The Port of Rotterdam Authority is to dredge alongside three berths of the southern quaywall at the ECT Delta Terminal in order to meet the draught requirements of next generation container ships.
A 500m section pf the Amazonehaven port basin at Maasvlakte will be deepened from 16.65m to 17.45 in a project commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority in partnership with Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam. Works are expected to be completed in the second half of November.
Following the completion of this project the Port Authority and ECT will evaluate whether it is possible to deepen a larger section of the Amazonehaven basin. The partners intend to achieve a comparable depth for at least two additional berths, each of which is 500m long.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority's vice president commercial, Emile Hoogsteden said: "Rotterdam is favourably situated on the North Sea coast and offers unrivalled water depths, strong hinterland connections and a high level of digitalisation. That's why many intercontinental scheduled container services include Rotterdam as both their first and last port of call in Europe. Shipping lines are always striving for new economies of scale, since this enables them to offer more competitive transport rates. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is happy to facilitate this trend on behalf of shipping companies and deep sea terminals, to ensure that Rotterdam maintains its status as Europe's most attractive port of call."
By Larz Bourne
