If your company or organization includes overseas shipping of merchandise to Europe, the Rotterdam seaport is of great interest to your industry.

Rotterdam Seaport, currently  the largest seaport of Europe, operates on Maasvlakte and is one of the main ports and the largest industrial hubs in the region, handling some 430,000,000 tons of overseas cargo in 2010 alone.  The Rotterdam seaport is the most critical portal to the European market of more than 350,000,000 consumers, due to its exceptional sea accessibility, hinterland connections and industrial complex of thriving commercial activity. The existing port covers an area of 40 kilometres and is approximately 10.500 ha, not including the area occupied by Maasvlakte 2, the port’s current expansion project.

Maasvlakte 2 Mega Port in Rotterdam

The construction of Maasvlakte 2, which began in 2008, is expected to further revolutionize the overseas shipping industry with what is expected to become the most advanced overseas shipping port in the world by its completion in 2035, and the capacity to handle some 32,000,000 shipping containers in the coming decades.

Some facts about the new Mega Port project:

Project Inclusion Stats

• 700 hectares of new industrial sites
• 11 km of seawall
• 3.5 km of quay wall
• 24 km of roads
• 14 km of rail
• 560 hectares of port basin

Land Expansion

Lacking additional land area for this expansion project, the Port of Rotterdam Authority approved a $4,000,000,000 project to turn four square miles of 66-foot-deep ocean into dry ground by spraying 240,000,000 cubic meters of sand dredged from deep sea locations and by deepening the harbor basin by 20 meters, which in turn enables the port to accommodate even the largest of overseas shipping container “super ships”. With the ability to carry 18,000 or more containers per shipment, shippers will be able to charge lower prices per ton.

Protective Seawall

The seawall is 11 km long and is made up of a stone-covered dune with a pebble beach, (the first of its kind in the Netherlands), with a low dam constructed of concrete blocks on a foundation of several layers of marine building stone in front. 19,558 of these concrete blocks, in addition to 2,000,000 tons of quarry stone, were recycled from the existing Maasvlakte seawall. A total of 7,000,000 tons of quarry stone were used in all for the seawall project.

Rapid Cargo Movement Automation

Current overseas shipping terminals have the capacity to move some 30 containers per hour. With the new Mega Port at Maasvlakte 2, equipment automation is expected to increase this efficiency rate by nearly 50%. Ship-to-Shore cranes will be operated remotely, and automated ground transport vehicles will carry the containers via a pavement transponder navigation system, and will unload themselves using built-in hydraulic lifts. This futuristic automation will run solely on rechargeable 13-ton batteries, which are changed out at a robotic battery-exchange station after 8 hours.

In short, those companies utilizing overseas shipping for their goods to European locations will benefit greatly from this massive new Mega Port in the Netherlands, which will have the capacity to handle far larger container ships and notably faster movement of shipping cargo.

At ETC International, we have acute interest in any overseas shipping method or facility which will produce better and faster results for our overseas shipping customers. We are happy to provide information about shipping container requirements, and a fast, free rate quote for any company interested in utilizing our services for their overseas shipping considerations. 

We have been providing overseas shipping services to customers since 1988 - allow us to offer the benefit of our experience and expertise to assist with your overseas cargo shipments.