EMEA News
Port of Rotterdam Sees Considerably Fewer Ships in 2012
The port of Rotterdam has said that there were "considerably fewer ships" calling at the port in 2012, and increased scale, crisis, and fewer ferry service departures had reduced the number of arrivals by 2,347 to 32,057 ship visits.
The 2012 total is 4,258 less visits than the 36,415 arrivals seen in 2008.
Despite the drop in vessels, throughput at the port was up 1.7 percent to 442 million tonnes, it said.
The port also noted fewer nautical accidents for the year, down 21 from 132 in 2011, to 111 last year, and said it had also created a new safety index, the Nautical Safety Index.
Looking ahead, Harbour Master René de Vries of the Port of Rotterdam Authority said he anticipates "considerably more ships in the near future" once the Maasvlakte 2 port expansion project is open, which is expected later this year.
The Port Authority said it also took an important step in renewing the Rotterdam Port Management By-laws with an eye to the coming of LNG as fuel for shipping.
