Port of Rotterdam

1. Introduction

The topic of this term paper is Port of Rotterdam. In its first part this paper will introduce history of Port of Rotterdam, as it will be seen the history of the port goes back to 14th century, when Rotterdam started as a small fishing port and then through centuries it becomes one of the world's most important ports.

In the next part this work introduces current situation of the port. Nowadays the port has a biggest market share in Europe and so it is the most important port in Europe and is called the gateway to Northwest Europe. Coal, ores, fruit, vegetable, containers, oil and many other goods is handled here.

In the next part strategic value of the port will be shown. Both economical value and strategic importance of the port is great deal for the competitive international position of Netherlands.

In the last part the competitive position of the port will be briefly analyzed, the market share of the port in time will be shown and there will be SWOT analysis of the port, in final part some recommendation for future development will be given.

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2. History of the port

Port of Rotterdam is by far the most important port in whole Europe and serves as a connection point with the rest of the world. The port is located on the river Rotte and history of the port goes back to 14th century when it's started as a village port only for fishing purposes. Nowadays it is one of the biggest ports in the world

The history of the port can be divided into several periods:

2.1 Beginning of 14th century - end of 19th century

In the 14th century Rotte was only very small fishing village with even smaller port which was constructed in 1328. Then when trade rises, Rotterdam had become merchant port and started to developed.

In the 16th century, during Spanish war, Rotterdam had a position of a trade port with international importance (partners were England and Portugal). In 17th century city population grows (from 20 000 to 50 000 people) and the port was enlarged.

In the 19th century, when Industrial Revolution came the port facilities were extended once again and Rotterdam became one of the biggest ports in Europe mainly because of transportation of goods between Germany and Great Britain.

The capacity of the port wasn't sufficient enough and that is why the Nieuwe Waterwag (New Waterway) was started to built in 1864. The main point for this construction works was gain the access to the port became broader. Niuewe Waterwag was complete in 1872 and port of Rotterdam became accessible for bigger vessels. The development of the port and its position in this period could be seen in the Figure 1 on the next page.

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2.2 1900 - 1950

In the beginning of the 20th century, there was another substantial enlargement of the port. The harbours Waalhaven and Merwehaven were constructed. The major function of the Waalhaven harbour was transportation of goods such as coal, grain and ore. The Merwehaven harbour was built to increase depth of the port. Afterwards Merwehaven was rebuilt into a fruit port.

After World War I petroleum increase its importance in economy and new tankers for oil transformation were constructed. These vessels couldn't enter existing harbours due to its drafts. That is why Petroleumhavens were build.

Figure 1: Evolution of the port Source: Development in the port of Rotterdam [online]

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In the period of World War II the port of Rotterdam was badly damaged, 45% of transport capacity and 30% of storage space was lost. After that, significant amount of energy was invested in the reconstruction of the port. The war was an opportunity to modernize the port and bring advanced technologies in there.

2.3 1950 - Today

In these period ships was consistently raising its size and bigger harbours have to be built. In 1950s and 1960s the projects of Botlek and Europoort were realized because more industrial zones had to be located closer to the sea. Then in 1970s conteiners arrived to the port of Rotterdam. In Figure 2 could be seen the container (TEU) transportation in time in the port of Rotterdam.

Because of Containerization of the port the Maasvlakte had to be developed to modernized the facilities of the port and of course increase the capacity of it.

In 2008 the Maasvlakte 2 extension has begun. It will be located directly in deep water and it will be open in 2013. With Maasvlakte 2 even the biggest vessels in industry can reach the Port of Rotterdam.

Figure 2: Transshipment of TEU in time Source: Development in the port of Rotterdam [online]

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3. Current situation

Nowadays port of Rotterdam is perceived as a gateway to Nortwest Europe. „Literally everything passes through the port of Rotterdam. From apples to cars, and from computers to the raw materials for the chemical industry. Rotterdam owes its position to its location on the Rhine estuary. Goods find their way, by water or land, to some 500 million Europeans. By inland vessel, truck, train, pipeline or coaster. The port of Rotterdam covers an area of 40 kilometers, from the centre of the city to the North Sea. Some of the port basins are so deep that the largest of ships, with a draught of up to 24 meters, can call there. As there are no locks, they can quickly berth."1

3.1 Facts and figures

 Shipping: 34 000 ocean-going vessels + 100 000 Inland vessels per year

 Employment: 90 000 jobs created by the port

 Cargo: 430 million tons of cargo is handled per year

 Fruit and Vegetable: Every day 200 trucks of fruit and vegetable leaves the port

 Area: approximately 26 000 acres

 Size: Port of Rotterdam is 40 kilometers long

 Profits: approximately 60 million annually

3.2 Goods handled

The port handles significant amount of goods every day for example: Coal, ores, fruit, vegetable, containers, oil etc. In Figure 3 on next site could be seen, where is which goods handled.

1 Rotterdam, world-class port [online]

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In this part of the work handled goods will be clarify: