International Cargo Seaport: Port of Rotterdam

The Port of Rotterdam comes with a reputation, a historic journey, and exciting information to expand your knowledge about this particular industry further. Hence, we recommend you to keep reading the article below.

About the Port of Rotterdam

The Port of Rotterdam is among Europe’s oldest and most prominent ports. Twenty-four years from 1962 saw the port climbing the list of the world’s busiest, too, although Asian ports like Shanghai and Singapore have since surpassed it.

Because it is bordered by Europe’s most densely inhabited and industrialized areas such as London, Paris, and the German Ruhr zone, the port is regarded as a strategically significant distribution hub in Europe. The Port of Rotterdam Authority (PoRA) operates and manages the port and industrial region of Rotterdam. They’re also in charge of expanding the current and future port’s infrastructure and driving cargo traffic.

The company’s central purpose is to improve the port’s competitive position in terms of quality and size, which was why they invested €34 million in 2009, with the turnover reaching approximately €500m.

The History

The Port of Rotterdam was founded in 1283 when a tiny fishing settlement was established at the Rotte riverbank after restoring a piece of land. After building a canal to the Schie in 1360, the port gained a reputation as an important harbor.

The port acquired access to bigger northern cities and accommodated the product shipping between Germany and England due to the expansion. The founding of a maritime line to the Indies in the 17th century ushered in an era of unprecedented growth in the trade and shipping industries.

From 1795 until 1815 or during the French possession of the port, traffic became unfortunately severely hampered. However, after Napoleon’s fall in 1821, sea commerce rose again exponentially.

1940 saw almost half of the port facilities being destroyed by Germany, but they built things again to much more modernized constructions after WWII.

More about the Port of Rotterdam

The Port of Rotterdam recorded 386.96 million tons of cargo successfully managed in 2009, which decreased from 421 million tons in the previous year. In the first six months of the following year (2010), the number rose again to approximately 213 million tons, up 14.8%.

The PoRA intends to inject around €25 million capital into a five-hectare plot to facilitate Botlek Tank Terminal’s future development. More than half a million cubic of sand would be poured there to acquire the land, particularly on the southwestern corner. The filling phase of the project is slated to begin in 2011 and finish by 2013.

In addition, the port features a one-of-a-kind hospital with special accommodations for mariners of all grades and countries.

We hope the information about the Port of Rotterdam above gives you something new to know! Go ahead and try checking out our other informative port-related articles as well!