The MoU has secured long-term handling capacity for the increasing cargo flows in Rotterdam. In its first phase, the Euromax Terminal will have a capacity of 2.3 million TEU. In its final phase (Maasvlakte 2), the total capacity will ultimately amount to 5.6 million TEU. ECT president Jan Westerhoud said: “ECT and the CKYH Lines - each line individually as well as in its capacity as a member of CKYH - have a long lasting and mutually beneficial working relationship. We are very happy to offer CKYH capacity in the short- and long-term at our new container terminal under construction at the Euromax site on Maasvlakte 1 and 2.” A member of the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group, ECT is the biggest container terminal operator in Europe, handling almost three-quarters of all containers at the Port of Rotterdam. ECT operates the ECT Delta Terminal on the Maasvlakte Peninsula and the ECT Home Terminal & ECT Hanno Terminal in the Eemhaven/Waalhaven area. ECT has developed a network of inland terminals to facilitate better intermodal transport between Rotterdam and the hinterland. ECT handled 5.6 million TEU in 2005.
The CKYH Alliance is the largest shipping alliance in the world, with a total supply capacity of 1.25 million TEU. COSCO Pacific also participates in and operates 23 terminals globally, and with an aggregate throughput of 26 million TEU in 2005, it ranked the fifth largest container terminal operator in the world.