EMEA News
Rotterdam Throughput Grows by 4.9% in 2015 to Reach Record Level
The Port of Rotterdam Authority says that it has achieved a record level of goods throughput at the port after a total growth of 4.9 percent to 466.4 million tonnes was recorded for the 2015 year.
The port says the "significant" growth is "almost entirely attributable" to the increase in crude oil and oil product throughput.
Commenting on the record result, Allard Castelein, CEO, Port of Rotterdam Authority, said "low oil prices result in high margins for the refineries, so they have large quantities of oil shipped in for refining."
"This not only applies to the refineries in Europe but also to those in Russia. The latter produce a relatively large amount of fuel oil which is shipped to the Far East via Rotterdam."
The port reported that while liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains a relatively small segment with 2.3 million tonnes having passed through the port in 2015, the port authority notes that LNG saw a 91.3 percent growth from the previous year.
Meanwhile the handling of dry bulk, which globally had an extremely tough year, decreased by 1.0 percent overall in 2015 year.
Container throughput at Rotterdam in 2015 was reported to have fallen by 0.5 percent to 12.2 million TEU.
RoRo traffic at the port saw a 10.1 percent increase in 2015, growing to 22.0 million tonnes.
Earlier this month, Ship & Bunker reported that records for fuel shipment by very large crude carriers at the Port of Rotterdam were shattered in 2015, with 51 vessels having discharged and/or loaded fuel oil last year.
