Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. The large seaport of Rotterdam belongs to

Hello friends!

My next contract is coming to an end and, having tickets in hand, I can say with confidence that the write-off will take place, the old fashioned way, in the good old Dutch harbor - Rotterdam port.

I have been working for the benefit of the maritime industry for 10 years now, and 8 of them have been associated with Rotterdam. Working on containers small size, the so-called feeders (handy size), who scurry around the famous port capitals of Europe, I cannot avoid this city by any legal means.

Whatever one may say, whether I like it or not, my destiny is simply connected with Rotterdam . It is about him and the Dutch, on the eve of my departure, that I would like to talk.

When I first drove here in a car with an agent, I simply could not believe my eyes. We drove for about an hour along the expressway, where arrows indicated exits to the port to berths with different numbers. I don’t remember how many numbers I managed to count, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the number was closer to 1000.

This is not a city, it's just some kind of port .

Some numbers for analysis.

Among the top 20 European ports, Rotterdam confidently ranks first, more than twice surpassing Antwerp in terms of processing volumes. By the way, Novorossiysk is in 4th place!

But now Rotterdam is 9th among 20 world ports, losing all first places to the ports of China (7 places) and Singapore.

Here are some meanings:

• Port area - 12600 hectares
• The total length of the berth lines is 74 km
• Maximum depth – 24 m (not bad for a semi-flooded state)
• Number of ship calls per year - 29,000

Rotterdam, as the main European maritime hub, is connected to more than 500 permanent commercial shipping lines. The first line opened in May 1966 with a weekly container route from New York.

Why else is Rotterdam port so popular?

Thanks to its ideal geographical location, it is connected to a dozen destinations within Europe itself through the river transport system of the Rhine and Meuse rivers: Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, Austria and Switzerland.

A transport system with roads and thousands of trailers that, like river barges, are loaded and unloaded at the port every day, connecting land and sea routes.

Honestly, it's just kind of crazy!

Just below sea level

It will not be a secret to anyone that Holland lies somewhere at sea level and generally exists only thanks to water, and even its absence in some places.

If here in Crimea you can hear phrases 300 meters above sea level, here in Holland it is nonsense. Here the location of objects above sea level is calculated in meters. Moreover, both in a positive and negative direction.

30% of Holland lies below sea level, and 60% is at risk of being flooded. How do you like the numbers? Cool? Stock up on rubber boots and punt boats!

But the Dutch are not afraid of such a constant catastrophe as rising water levels (which many for some reason consider to be a potential threat).

Firstly, there is a storm barrier to guard against rising water levels in the Meuse River Maaslantkering , which is only part national system security.

Secondly, people who live on the water , work on the water, give birth to children and even go to school on boats, it’s hard to be scared by some kind of flood.

By the way, no one has canceled everyday tidal currents. Keep this in mind when walking along the Dutch coast. Once I was chatting with a friend and listened to how people from the shore began to wave their hands at us. And when they fled from the rapidly rising sea, it wasn’t just their heels that got wet.

Storm Barrier

The plan to protect Holland from floods, the last of which was catastrophic in 1953, is called the Delta Plan or Deltawerken . The amount spent on it is colossal - more than 2 million euros!

The largest storm barrier is called Oosterschelde and is a 9 km long hydraulic structure to maintain a certain water level. When the water level rises at alarming levels, the barrier Oosterschelde , What Maaslantkering close their doors and prevent the water level in the river from rising.

Storm Barrier Oosterschelde , opened in 1986, I was not able to see, but the barrier Maaslantkering I watch almost every week.

The chaotic movement of ships in the canal is especially chic when a storm warning is announced (usually with a northwest wind of more than 10-11 points) and all plans change almost on the fly.

A couple of years ago, just such a case happened to us when an emergency berth was urgently given, but the gates were never closed. It's gone, so to speak))

By the way, the design of the storm barrier near the island city of Kronstadt is almost identical. The gates save St. Petersburg from the possibility of flooding during off-season floods from the Gulf of Finland.

A Dutch company was also involved in the construction work, and the project is as similar as 2 peas in a pod.

Will there still be

Despite the simply gigantic size of the port of Rotterdam today, the practical Dutch conceived and carried out another adventure. They are literally for last decade they built an extension of the port directly from the sand.

Such adventures are somewhat reminiscent of the well-known “miracles in the desert” from the Arab sheikhs, who were also at one time fascinated by man-made islands.

But with the Dutch it’s all about business, not entertainment.

If you look at a map of the port, you will see that its busiest part, which is located at the entrance to the Meuse River, literally sticks out beyond the coastline. So the Dutch have generally lost their fear and are now boldly stealing territory from the North Sea.

More recently, new container terminals were introduced under the code name RWG – Rotterdam World Gate , where today the cranes are controlled by some students sitting in stuffy offices using joysticks and webcams.

Well, the practice of distributing containers around the terminal using robotic trailers is no longer an innovation.

So here it is. If you want to talk to someone at the port, take out your phone from your bosom. If you scream, you won’t finish shouting. The future is already here and machines have replaced people after all. Not completely yet, but this is also a matter of time.

In the meantime, you are thinking about the global nature of the problem, look at the photos and read my reviews about, I went to pack my things.

Sorry, but I really want to go home!

Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. From 1962 to 1986 it was the largest port in the world, and since 2004, Asian ports such as Singapore and Shanghai have taken the lead in the world, taking the palm from Rotterdam. According to 2004 data, Rotterdam is the seventh port in the world in terms of the number of containers handled (TEU).

It is one of the largest ports in the world, located in the city of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Rhine. The area of ​​the port in Rotterdam is 105 square kilometers, it is 40 kilometers long. It is located on the banks of the Kalandkanal, the extensions of the Nieuwe-Maas Nieuwe-Waterweg and Scheur, as well as on the Maasvlakt embankment area, which opens into the North Sea.

The Port of Rotterdam consists of a historic port area in the city center, which includes Delfshaven; complex Maaskhaven / Rheinhaven / Feyenoord; harbors around Nieuw-Matenesse; Waalhaven; Vondelingenplat; Emhaven; Botlek; Europort.

It began to develop especially intensively in the second half??? century, due to the emergence of large-scale industry in the Ruhr basin. Heavily damaged during the Second World War, today Rotterdam handles huge cargo flows, the basis of which are oil and petroleum products.

The most significant sector of activity of the Port of Rotterdam is the petrochemical industry and general cargo handling. The port is the most important center for handling bulk, liquid, container and other cargo both within the European continent and around the world. In addition to sea transport, communication with Rotterdam is established by road, rail, river and air transport. Since 2000, construction began on the Betuweroute high-speed freight railway connecting Rotterdam with Germany. The rivers Meuse and Rhine provide connections with the interior of the continent. The largest oil refineries are located in the eastern part of the port.

The port of Rotterdam, located in the Netherlands, is jokingly called the largest port in Germany. However, these words can be applied not only to Germany, but also to a number of other countries, for example, Austria, Switzerland: the largest part of the cargo delivered to these states passes through the most important “gateway to Europe”. However, Rotterdam itself can hardly be called Dutch: the port is losing its nationality - today you can meet here at every step sales representatives from almost all countries of the world, workers of logistics complexes of global corporations, Chinese sailors, Russian bunker workers...

Located on the Rhine River, the port has one important advantage over its competitors - stevedoring companies located on the European coast between Hamburg and Le Havre: the close proximity of the transshipment terminals to the North Sea. Competitors, before reaching the pier, need to travel a long distance along a river or canal deep into the continent.

The uniqueness of the port’s location, which predetermined its success, lies in the fact that the rivers flowing through the territories different countries, are excellent for transporting goods to central and western Europe. And the landscape of the area made possible intensive road and rail traffic, which is extremely important with high freight turnover.

Of course, a visit to Rotterdam would be incomplete without visiting the port on a special vessel. In just 75 minutes you can get acquainted with life in Rotterdam on and around the water. An unforgettable experience will be left behind by visiting the shipyards, piers and docks in the immediate vicinity; you will become a participant in the busy movement of sea and river ships along the river that brought glory to Rotterdam. There will also be an opportunity to explore the surrounding area of ​​Rotterdam during an exciting excursion along the many rivers and fairways that exist in the area. During the journey, you can see how the port gradually expands and goes out to the sea, where the ships become larger and larger. In a short time you will be enriched with a real “world” impression!

The Port of Rotterdam is one of the largest in the world and the largest in Europe. It is located in the Netherlands and, according to 2011 data, is the tenth largest in the world in terms of the number of containers processed there. The port is located in the Rhine delta, 33 kilometers from the North Sea, to which Rotterdam is connected by a deep-water canal accessible for the passage of large ocean liners.

The Port of Rotterdam has 50 basins that can accommodate 300 ships at a time. The length of the mooring front is about 57 kilometers and has a depth of up to 22 meters.

The Port of Rotterdam handles more than 50% of the Netherlands' foreign trade turnover and 75% of all cargo transport along the Rhine.

Oil accounts for about 70% of the port's turnover and is the main source of turnover. Therefore, there are 5 oil harbors with 68 berths, of which 14 are capable of receiving tankers with a carrying capacity of up to 280 thousand tons.

The Port of Rotterdam annually handles more than 30,000 sea and 250,000 river vessels. However, it cannot be said that the port is only cargo. A large place in it is occupied by passenger transportation. From here a ferry departs for Hull and takes 12 hours on the journey. Also, a huge number of cruise ships pass through the port of Rotterdam and make a stop there.

Taxi, transfer to the port of Rotterdam

Transfer from KiwiTaxi (individual, group) is a comfortable way to get to the port of Rotterdam, having planned your trip in advance.

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Rice. 2.5.

Rotterdam is a major transport hub (railways and highways); sea ​​(on the North Sea) and river (Meuse River) ports; airport.

The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe, and from 1962 to 2004 it was the largest in the world (it lost this title to Shanghai and Singapore). In 2006, Rotterdam was the sixth largest container port in the world by TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) handling.

Fig.2.6. Terminal layout of Rotterdam: Maasvlakta, Europort, Botlek

Europort is a sea terminal in Rotterdam (Fig. 2.6., 2.7.). Situated at the mouths of the Rhine and Meuse rivers, which connect it to the European interior of Belgium, Germany, France and the Netherlands. The main activity of the port is servicing oil refineries, as well as enterprises in the coal and metallurgical industries. In addition, the port has automobile and container terminals.

Fig.2.7.

Company "EUROPEAN BULK SERVICES (E.B.S.) B.V." operates at two terminals located in strategically important areas of the port of Rotterdam, namely at the E.B.S. Europoort", where import/export agricultural products and coal are loaded and unloaded (at the berths of large-capacity vessels), and "E.B.S. St. Laurenshaven, a terminal for Panamax container ships, where the main loading and unloading operations of ore, coal, scrap, biomass and agricultural products are carried out. These two large terminals have excellent cargo handling and storage facilities. All terminals are optimally connected to deep-sea shipping routes, inland waters, railways and highways. Access to the terminals is carried out without passing through a single-chamber gateway. These terminals can accommodate any type of vessel from large bulk carriers to river barges.

From the Europoort terminal you can get to the pilot station in 1.5 hours, and from the St. Laurenshaven" - in 3 hours.

The area of ​​the port in Rotterdam is 105 square kilometers, it is 40 kilometers long. The port is located along the banks of the Kalandkanal, the extension of the rivers Nieuwe Maas, Nieuwe Waterweg and Scheur, as well as at the Maasvlakte bulk terminal, which opens into the North Sea.

The Port of Rotterdam consists of a historic port area in the city center, which includes Delfshaven; complex Maaskhaven / Rheinhaven / Feyenoord; harbors around Nieuw-Matenesse; Waalhaven; Vondelingenplat; Emhaven; Botlek; Europort.

The Port of Rotterdam is connected by regular shipping lines to more than 110 European ports. Feeder ships and other modes of transport allow door-to-door delivery of cargo arriving in Rotterdam on ocean-going ships. Port infrastructure and equipment of the port of Rotterdam, 2008: total area - 10,556 hectares; water area and infrastructure - 5,999 hectares; port length - 40 km; berth line length - 89 km; container loaders - 103; container cranes - 12; multi-purpose cranes - 162.

Terminals: container terminals for ocean vessels, European cabotage vessels and river vessels - 9; multi-purpose terminals - 17; specialized terminals for Ro-Ro, liquid, bulk, etc. cargo - 67. Other equipment: tugs - 29; pilot boats - 6: piers, dams - 122; dry docks - 6; floating docks - 7. Modern container terminals in Rotterdam serving ships in as soon as possible, make the port the most popular hub for feeder transport in Europe.

Rotterdam is the second (after Amsterdam) largest city in the Netherlands; about 600 thousand people live here.
The seaport of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe, and until 2004 it was the largest in the world. The city has a large number of cargo terminals and transhipment bases for international cargo. It takes about 15 minutes to get here from The Hague and the same in euros :)

In 1940 german army attacked Holland and subjected Rotterdam to massive bombing, causing a large number of casualties and destruction. After three days of heavy fire, the Netherlands signed an act of surrender, so Rotterdam was the only city on Dutch territory destroyed by the Nazi invaders.
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This event predetermined the development of the city after the end of the war. Thus: 90% of buildings here are not older than 60 years
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The fact that when building the city “from scratch” they relied on high-tech is clear already when leaving the station
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The city center, like in The Hague, is actively being built up with skyscrapers
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The name of the luxury hotel here is fully justified
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Traditionally (for Holland), right at the station we find ourselves on the bank of the canal, along which we continue moving towards the sea
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On the embankment you periodically come across strange sculptures that remind you that soft drugs are allowed in the country;)
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In one place the water in the canal is in bloom, but even this is used for decorative purposes: jets of water from artificial fountains make up a phrase on the water
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Space is a little better here than in The Hague - hence the wider sidewalks
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And contactless parking;)
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The traffic on the streets is brisk, but there are no traffic jams in sight
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A nice house built in a semicircle. In the center of the semicircle there is a park and a playground and no parking on the lawns!
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Passing by the Natural History Museum, we couldn’t miss the hares “walking” in the clearing in front of the museum
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While we were looking at the giant hares, a real “squint” was spotted in the grass, jumping towards the bushes
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In a photo report about The Hague, I already talked about distinctive feature south of Holland - sun visors on the windows. In Rotterdam, this feature is manifested “in full force”
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Next item on the program: Het Park - a vacation spot for Rotterdammers and a concert venue for various musical events
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Ducks pretend to be pigeons :)
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People play football
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They rap
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And just relax in the shade of the trees
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A heron carefully examines my lens from the opposite shore of the pond
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Next to the park there is a hospital building of a very strange design - with porthole windows
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Right in the park there is a Euromast tower built in 1960, where we headed
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The tower has two high-speed elevators that take tourists to a height of 100 meters in less than a minute
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The observation deck at an altitude of 112 meters offers an amazing view of the city.
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The famous Rotterdam Erasmus Bridge over the Maas river
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Downtown
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Ocean liner SS Rotterdam - in at the moment floating museum
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World Port Center and hotel New York
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High Rise De hoge maas
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College of Transportation Campus
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Evening rush hour. We would like such “traffic jams” in Moscow! ;)
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Sleeping areas
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At an altitude of 112 meters there is a toilet: the stairs are very steep, so to prevent anyone from colliding with their heads, a mirror hangs at the place where it turns
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The Maas River is very busy. There are also fast boats here
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And pleasure boats
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and city minibuses
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and heavy barges
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and even desperate people on a scooter (with such heavy traffic!)
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But what struck me most was this bus: it feels like it has wheels somewhere below and when approaching the shore, it will simply move on :)
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There is also a pier for small ships here.
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We return to the station through shopping streets
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And we pass by a bicycle parking lot (appreciate the scale? ;)
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In Rotterdam, those wishing to travel by rail at the stage of purchasing tickets will have a “fun” attraction: only cash (thank God for bills!) and Maestro cards are accepted, although the terminals are exactly the same as in Amsterdam.
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Be careful and buy round-trip tickets when leaving Amsterdam - the price will be the same!
The height of this part of Holland above sea level is about 10 meters (for comparison: in Moscow - about 140), and the station is generally located at sea level
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