Port of Rotterdam Authority says it welcomes initiatives from companies including BCTN, Kramer and Waalhaven Group for more efficient transportation of containers between the Port of Rotterdam deepsea terminals and the hinterland.
BCTN is bundling freight in Alblasserdam from its eight terminals in the Netherlands and Belgium in order to offer point-to-point services to the deepsea terminals on Maasvlakte. Kramer and Waalhaven Group are bundling cargo at their own terminals in Rotterdam and offer clients daily point-to-point services between the Waal and Eemhaven and the deepsea terminals on Maasvlakte. The deepsea terminals are also offering new services in the port, such as APM Terminals’ Cool Port barge service and the Intercity Barge from EGS and Danser.
The market initiatives build on the previous bundling initiatives supported by the Port Authority on the West-Brabant Corridor (Tilburg-Oosterhout-Moerdijk-Rotterdam) and the Duisburg Corridor (Duisburg-Gorinchem-Rotterdam). These initiatives in the port have resulted in call sizes that are two to four times bigger than previously, approximately 40% shorter port calls, more accurate approach times of inland vessels at deepsea terminals and 20% fewer trucks on the roads.
Ronald Paul, COO at the Port of Rotterdam Authority: ‘Container bundling works. Our huge compliments to our market partners who have taken the chances to further improve accessibility in the Port of Rotterdam. They have experienced that joint agreements pay off for their clients. The good results so far have energised us to continue further. All parties involved have committed to test and implement solutions in the coming year. This continued improvement in port efficiency is a tangible result of the agreements that were made last year between parties in the so-called Inland Container Shipping Chain sector consultation.’
Examples of solutions that will be addressed in the coming period are the enrichment of information about container status for all participating chain parties and a feasibility study into container overflow hubs in the port. 17 parties have now joined the Nextlogic information platform that is to be launched in the summer of 2019.