The Port of Rotterdam achieves record throughput

Goods throughput in Rotterdam increased by a total 4.9% to 466.4 million t in 2015. This significant growth is almost entirely attributable to the increased throughput of crude oil and oil products.

Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority, said: "Low oil prices result in high margins for the refineries, so they have large quantities of oil shipped in for refining. This not only applies to the refineries in Europe but also to those in Russia. The latter produce a relatively large amount of fuel oil, which is shipped to the Far East via Rotterdam. The result is an 8% increase in the throughput of crude oil and an 18% increase in the throughput of oil products."

Although this year the port owes its growth to oil, according to Castelein the port is in a transition phase: "Due to the need to combat climate change, the port is fully committed to energy efficiency as well as the development of renewable energy and bio-based chemistry. Rotterdam already has one of the most energy efficient refining and chemicals clusters and the largest bio-based cluster in the world. It is our ambition to retain our leading position.”

Dry bulk

The throughput of ores and scrap fell by 0.6% to 33.9 million t. Although steel demand slightly increased, this was offset by the import of cheap Chinese steel. The throughput of coal increased by 1.0% to 30.7 million t. The coal transported to Rotterdam consists for approximately 40% of coking coal used in blast furnaces and 60% of coal for power plants.

The concentration of coking coal entering Rotterdam slightly increased the throughput volume. Good harvests provided lower imports of mostly oil seeds and fodder, as a result of which agricultural bulk fell by 3.8% to 10.8 million t. The amount of other dry bulk decreased by 3.9% to 12.3 million t as fewer nutrients and minerals were imported. In contrast, more fly ash, a residue of coal plants, was transported to the United States. Overall, the handling of dry bulk decreased by 1.0%.

Edited from press release by Angharad Lock

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/15012016/the-port-of-rotterdam-4-increase-in-throughput-1919/