Hans Smits, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO: “This result is above expectations. Record throughput by the port while the Port of Rotterdam Authority invested a record sum of €460 million. This year throughput was particularly stimulated by the 15% growth in world trade and the flourishing German economy. In 2011, government cutbacks will be more strongly felt throughout Europe. On the other hand, Rotterdam will continue to feel and pass on the heartbeat of the world economy. I am therefore cautiously optimistic about throughput which I expect to grow by 2 to 3 percent to around 440 million tonnes”.

Dry bulk
The total throughput of dry bulk cargo increased by almost 28% to 85 million tonnes.

Coal throughput fell by 1.7% to 24 million tonnes. Steam coal consumption decreased due to a decline in energy demand due to the economic downturn and low natural gas prices. In addition, stocks built up in 2009 were eaten into. Throughput of cokes coal, around 40% of coal imports into Rotterdam, rose in parallel with the increasing trend in steel production. In 2011, an increase in coal throughput up to 25-26 million tonnes is realistic because stocks have been reduced. Structurally, coal remains a growth product as a result of the mine closures in Germany.

Ore and scrap throughput leapt by +71% to almost 40 million tonnes once again. Demand for steel showed a strong increase largely due to German automobile manufacturers. Furthermore, extra ore imports were required for the – temporary – production of steel slabs by ThyssenKrupp for the United States. In the fourth quarter, throughput was lower due to high stock levels and temporary capacity reductions at steel plants. Expectations for 2011 are moderately positive. Despite rises in the price of raw materials, a slight increase in the production of iron and steel is expected. Consequently, a cautious prediction of a maximum throughput of 41 million tonnes is possible.

Other dry bulk cargo (minerals, ore concentrates, building materials) increased by over 22% to 12.5 million tonnes. This is 4% higher than the level before the crisis. The most important consumers in this sector – the chemical and metal industries – recovered well. The third major consumer, the building sector, is late cyclical and for the time being continues to generate little demand. Because recovery of the steel sector is also uncertain, little growth is expected in 2011 in throughput of other dry bulk cargo.

Throughput of agribulk (grains, oil seeds, derivatives) remained stable at 8.4 million tonnes. The European 2009-2010 harvest year was good and this always places pressure on imports via Rotterdam. The 2010-2011 harvest year is considerably lower and this had the immediate effect of stimulating imports in the last quarter of 2010. On the other hand, the ADM crushing plant imported less soy from overseas due to imports of rapeseed from the European hinterland.

Liquid bulk
The throughput volume of liquid bulk rose by just under 6% to 209 million tonnes. Imports of crude oil increased by 4% to 100 million tonnes, the level of 2008. Demand for oil products in Western Europe suffered from the crisis and led to either closure or reduced production of less efficient refineries in Northern France and Northern Germany. This was to the advantage of the larger and more flexible refineries in Rotterdam. As a result, they were able to maintain a good position in the increasingly global competitive struggle.
Imports of oil products rose by 1% to almost 43 million tonnes, exports by 15% to just over 34 million tonnes. In total, a record throughput of 77 million tonnes (+7%) was (once again) achieved. This sector has been growing enormously for some ten years now. In the first quarter of 2009 in particular, stocks from floating storage were decreased due to rising prices (contango effect) and the recovering economy. Much use was also made of geographic price differences (arbitrage). Arbitrage also attracts Russian products to Rotterdam, particularly fuel oil and gas oil (diesel). In Rotterdam, blending is done to specification for Asia in particular. Furthermore, since VLCCs often become available in Rotterdam after discharging crude oil, the return transport is relatively cheap.

Throughput of other liquid bulk increased by just under 8% to almost 32 million tonnes. The most important reason for this is the increase in production of around 5% by the European chemical industry. In addition, many stocks were replenished at the beginning of this year and exports showed strong growth. Imports of vegetable oils, especially palm oil, slightly declined. Exports remained stable. Throughput of biofuels (biodiesel, ethanol and ETBE) has not yet succeeded in achieving an upward trend. Ethanol imports from Brazil fell, in favour of the United States and European countries. However, exports increased, particularly to the UK. On balance, ethanol throughput showed a slight decline. The UK is also the most important destination for biodiesel which showed a substantial downturn in throughput.

Containers and breakbulk
Handling of containers improved by almost 12% in comparison with last year and at 112 million tonnes was once again the most important cargo category in Rotterdam. Growth in TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Units) was back to “normal” increases this year (Rotterdam is also an empty container hub): up 14% to 11.1 million TEU. Rotterdam further expanded its position in the quantitatively biggest trade route, that between Europe and Asia. More and more ships of steadily increasing size are being used on this route and these are able to call at Rotterdam more easily than at competing ports. Transhipment (directly related to deepsea ships) of cargo heading for the Baltic region also did well. Other transhipment regions are declining: the UK/Ireland as a result of competition from the English ports, while Spain/Portugal is showing a geographic shift. However, throughput of intra-European containers, ‘shortsea’, to these regions is increasing once again: a small increase to the UK, a substantial increase to the Iberian peninsula and a very strong increase to Russia.

The roll-on / roll-off sector in Rotterdam is virtually entirely focused on the British market where the economy is still slowly recovering. This limited the growth of ferry services to 7% and a throughput of 17 million tonnes. This sector is still 6% below the level of 2008 while financial margins are too low. An endeavour is being made to boost these by rationalization (fewer sailings but with larger vessels, the takeover of Norfolkline by DFDS).

The other general cargo sector made up for its loss in 2009 exactly with a 16% profit.

The 7 million tonne cargo consists of the growth products steel and project cargo, paper and wood products, metals (aluminium, copper etc.), automobiles and fruit. This year, the port area used for handling breakbulk was effectively increased by 26 hectares.

More information
Facts and figures

Source: Port of Rotterdam

The Maeslant Storm Surge Barrier is one of the largest moving structures on the planet.  The barrier, completed in May of 1997, was the final stage of the Delta Works, a series of dams, sluices and storm surge barriers aimed to protect the port of Rotterdam and surrounding communities from flooding.  The Delta Works was originally started following the North Sea flood of 1953 that killed over 1,800 people.

The barrier consists of two large steel gates that operate on ball-and-socket joints, much like the human shoulder, that move freely with rising water, wind and waves.  The gates then close automatically by a computer system that makes the decision based on water levels and weather forecasts, with no human interaction needed.

Deltaworks.org explains its functioning:

During water levels of 3 metres above Amsterdam ordnance zero, the arms of the barrier are activated. The waterway, with a width of 360 metres, can then be closed completely. At first sight, it is almost unbelievable that such a barrier is capable of such an achievement. The Maeslant barrier is almost as long as the Eiffel tower and weighs about four times as much. It is the only storm surge barrier in the world with such large moveable parts. The storm surging doors have a length of 240 metres each. Under normal circumstances, these doors are fully opened, so that the ships have access to the port of Rotterdam. The doors are stored in docks with a length of 210 metres, which lie along both shores.

During storm tide the docks are flooded and the hollow doors begin to float. They are driven into the water by means of a small train. This lasts for about half an hour. When the doors are situated in the middle of the river, valves are opened and as a result the doors are flooded. Consequently, the doors sink to the bottom because of their weight. On the bottom, there is a concrete threshold. A lot of silt gathers on this threshold. To close the New Waterway properly, arms need to be positioned exactly on the threshold. The doors do not sit directly on the threshold yet, but are hung a little above them. The current under the doors becomes so strong that the silt is washed away. After about an hour, the doors can sit flat on a silt-free threshold. The water level on the seaside is then higher than the water on the riverside. The force against the surging wall during a storm is about 350 Mega Newton: this is equal to the weight of 350,000 strong men, carrying 100 kilograms each. The pressure difference is so large that a ship of equal measurements would capsize instantly. The unique shape of the barrier prevents this from happening.

Since its completion, the Maeslant barrier has been closed once from a strong storm in November of 2007.  However, with rising sea levels, the Dutch Government expects the gates to be used more often.

Links
Deltaworks.org
Storm Surge Warning Service
Image via techneblog.com

Shipspotters (via Fred Fry‘s Discoverer Entry) brings us Zhen Hua 10 Stranded on Beach near Rotterdam!

We detailed the sister ship Zhen Hua 5 ship in a previous video post titled: Time Lapse Video – Moving a Crane

Ship Of The Day tells us:

Today we have a very special report at Ship of the Day. In the night between friday and saturday, the heavy load carrier Zhen Hua 10 (IMO: 7917410, Port of Registry: Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines), which was anchored near Rotterdam, ran adrift in storm conditions and floated towards the Dutch coast, where she finally ran aground at the ‘Slufter’-beach at the Maasvlakte. For a while it appeared that the vessel was in danger of capsizing, but she was soon stable being stuck in the sand. The Zhen Hua 10 is loaded with 5 containercranes (of which one is destined for the new Euromax-terminal at Rotterdam) from Shanghai and has a crew of 33, which are still on board and not injured. Continue Reading…

Location of beached ship:

AIS Map by dirk.jan

Video of beached ship:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Related Links:

• Flickr Slideshow of Incident
• Shipspotters Discussion
• PortPictures – Incident Photos
• Pre-Incident Photos of Crane Ship Zhen Hua
• Original Tugspotter Blog Post
• VIDEO of the incident
• Time Lapse Video – Moving a Crane

UPDATE:

Dirkjan (creator of the AIS plot seen above) emailed us with the following update:

I have some news: Zhen Hua 10 is floating again since an half hour. I see this on my Shipplotter screen.
Earlier on Monday they managed to turn the vessel 90 deg,
heading to sea, and around midnight they used 3 harbourtugs
and one big tug (Janus IMO 9367504) and this was succesful.