The Port of Rotterdam Authority (HbR) and stevedoring company Steinweg Handelsveem are building a so-called slab terminal in the Mississippihaven on the Maasvlakte.
The required site, 12 ha, was created by filling in part of the Hartel Canal. In addition, the Port Authority is investing around € 37.5 million in the construction of 500 metres of quay wall and other public infrastructure, such as an access road. The terminal will be accessible for ships with a draught of up to 16.65 metres and will be completed in April 2009.
There is a movement under way in resource-rich countries like Brazil from the extraction and shipment of iron ore to the production of slabs with more added value in these countries. Within a period of 10 to 15 years, Rotterdam’s incoming trade in iron ore is expected to decline. The strategic importance of a slab terminal became clear after CVRD and ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG decided, in 2004, to build a slab plant[1] in Itaqui (Brazil), alongside CVRD’s iron ore mines. It will start production at the beginning of 2009, with a capacity of 5 million tonnes of slabs. TKS will ship off an annual 2.1 million tonnes of this to its 2nd-line plants in Duisburg and Bochum. Other major producers have plans for new plants in Brazil and India, among other places, in around 2010. World production of finished steel stood at 1.2 billion tonnes in 2006.
Rotterdam wants to strengthen its position in the handling of finished steel and is breaking down historical and cost barriers to achieve this. One way of doing this is by offering high-grade, automated terminal concepts, as Gevelco/Broekman has being doing since 2004 with the covered terminal for steel coils. Rotterdam’s willingness to invest in innovation is now being followed up in the form of the slab terminal.
TKS is the ‘launching customer’ and is creating the preconditions for further growth to a possible 4 million tonnes. For instance, outgoing trade to the Rhine/Ruhr area by inland shipping and rail (85/15) provides the opportunity to attract easy return cargo to Rotterdam. This could be containers of steel coils or other steel batches and pipes, etc. In a similar way, there is more space available on the seaward side in ocean-going vessels (Panamax/Handymax format). This can attract all kinds of export cargo such as agribulk, kaolin, paper, mineral and, of course, more steel. In Rotterdam’s hinterland, such companies as Dillingen Hütte, Saarstahl, Salzgitter, Arcelor Mittal and Tata/Corus have plants. In addition, Rotterdam sees extra opportunities for attracting overseas cargo from traditional producing countries like Canada and the US, but also from up-and-coming producers such as Russia, China and India.
A slab is a steel plate from the first stage in the production process of iron ore. Slabs are the raw material for various types of steel, which are produced in the second production line, e.g. steel plates, pipes, steel for the automobile industry. The width and length are similar to those of a container. The weight is some 25 tons.
The required site, 12 ha, was created by filling in part of the Hartel Canal. In addition, the Port Authority is investing around € 37.5 million in the construction of 500 metres of quay wall and other public infrastructure, such as an access road. The terminal will be accessible for ships with a draught of up to 16.65 metres and will be completed in April 2009.
There is a movement under way in resource-rich countries like Brazil from the extraction and shipment of iron ore to the production of slabs with more added value in these countries. Within a period of 10 to 15 years, Rotterdam’s incoming trade in iron ore is expected to decline. The strategic importance of a slab terminal became clear after CVRD and ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG decided, in 2004, to build a slab plant[1] in Itaqui (Brazil), alongside CVRD’s iron ore mines. It will start production at the beginning of 2009, with a capacity of 5 million tonnes of slabs. TKS will ship off an annual 2.1 million tonnes of this to its 2nd-line plants in Duisburg and Bochum. Other major producers have plans for new plants in Brazil and India, among other places, in around 2010. World production of finished steel stood at 1.2 billion tonnes in 2006.
Rotterdam wants to strengthen its position in the handling of finished steel and is breaking down historical and cost barriers to achieve this. One way of doing this is by offering high-grade, automated terminal concepts, as Gevelco/Broekman has being doing since 2004 with the covered terminal for steel coils. Rotterdam’s willingness to invest in innovation is now being followed up in the form of the slab terminal.
TKS is the ‘launching customer’ and is creating the preconditions for further growth to a possible 4 million tonnes. For instance, outgoing trade to the Rhine/Ruhr area by inland shipping and rail (85/15) provides the opportunity to attract easy return cargo to Rotterdam. This could be containers of steel coils or other steel batches and pipes, etc. In a similar way, there is more space available on the seaward side in ocean-going vessels (Panamax/Handymax format). This can attract all kinds of export cargo such as agribulk, kaolin, paper, mineral and, of course, more steel. In Rotterdam’s hinterland, such companies as Dillingen Hütte, Saarstahl, Salzgitter, Arcelor Mittal and Tata/Corus have plants. In addition, Rotterdam sees extra opportunities for attracting overseas cargo from traditional producing countries like Canada and the US, but also from up-and-coming producers such as Russia, China and India.
A slab is a steel plate from the first stage in the production process of iron ore. Slabs are the raw material for various types of steel, which are produced in the second production line, e.g. steel plates, pipes, steel for the automobile industry. The width and length are similar to those of a container. The weight is some 25 tons.