Improving services and infrastructure and proceeding with construction projects seems to be the order of the day and the brave Benelux ports are showing the way as Sheila Moloney reports…
Port of Rotterdam
In 2009, throughput in the port of Rotterdam fell to 385 million tonnes, down 8.5% on 2008. Imports shrank by 13% to 272 million tonnes; exports increased by 5% to 113 million tonnes. Bulk was 29% down on the previous year while general cargo fell by 9%. There was less incoming and outgoing trade in agribulk (-22%), ores and scrap (-47%), coal (-12%), other dry bulk (-13%), crude oil (-6%), other liquid bulk (-16%), roll on/roll off (-11%), other general cargo (-16%) and containers (-6%). Only the handling of mineral oil products showed a positive trend (+23%), actually achieving the biggest absolute increase (13 million tonnes) ever. The general cargo sector had a poor year as a consequence of declining world trade, although the total fall of 8% to 122 million tonnes is a reasonable result in comparison with rival ports. This definitely also applies to the handling of containers, which was 6% down on last year, but managed to remain just above 100 million tonnes. As fewer empty containers were handled, the decline in units was down 10% to 9.8 million TEU. Rotterdam is doing well in the largest ‘trade’ in quantitative terms, that between Europe and Asia. Shipping lines combined services and deployed the biggest possible vessels to reduce costs. What Rotterdam has to offer (location, depth, hinterland transport, port tariffs) is tailored well to this and means that the port can benefit from the trend. Container traffic within Europe, mainly to the major destinations such as England, Ireland and Spain, was hit quite hard, however. The services to North and South America are sharing in the malaise. The Baltic trade, mostly involving feeder traffic linked to the Asia services, is really flourishing, however. The roll-on / roll-off sector is geared virtually solely towards the British market. The crisis, which hit there early and hard, has not led to an earlier onset of recovery. This is further hampered by the value of the pound in relation to the euro. England and the Rotterdam services are focused very much on imports. In addition to the imbalance, the North Sea is characterised by the fierce competition between ferry services and with the container services and the Channel Tunnel. In the slightly longer term, the investments related to the Olympic Games offer positive prospects, which will buttress the investments in the expansion of capacity for Stena and Cobelfret, among other things. Hans Smits, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO commented: “Considering the circumstances, we cannot be dissatisfied. After hitting rock bottom in the second quarter, throughput has been improving slightly every month and virtually all the investments are going ahead. Moreover, Rotterdam is doing better than its main rivals. But I am not unconcerned. Many of our clients are having a difficult time and that will not be much different in 2010. The best medicine for this is growth, partly through an increase in our market shares. We therefore intend to continue with our active commercial policy. As a result of this, among other things, I hope that we will be able to break through the 400 million tonne barrier again next year. That means growth in throughput considerably over 3%”. Construction work on Maasvlakte 2 is progressing and 2010 started well for the project with the first shipment of stones arriving on Sunday 17 January 2010. During the next two years, a ship loaded with around 90,000 tonnes of natural stone will arrive every two weeks. In total, 5 million tonnes of new stone are needed. A further 2 million tonnes of stone from the existing Maasvlakte sea defences will be recycled.
Port of Amsterdam
The Port of Amsterdam reports that the total trans-shipment volume for 2009 is expected to reach around 73 million tons; a 3% decline compared to 2008. However, the strong growth of oil products has meant that the recession has only had a limited impact on the trans-shipment figures. Dry bulk dropped by 13% to 31 million tons – this figure includes agri products, which saw a 16% decline to 2 million tons. Products like grain, oilseed and fertiliser all experienced a decline. The trans-shipment of coal also dropped by 16% to 14 million tons. The largest decline, however, occurred in the container sector with traffic falling by over 50% to 200,000 TEU. The Port of Amsterdam is a relatively small player in the container market, and as a result of two of the three of ACT deep sea services being terminated, the trans-shipment volume has been halved. The total trans-shipment in the North Sea Canal Area (Amsterdam, Beverwijk, Ijmuiden and Zaanstad) is expected to amount to 86 million tons which represents a 9% decline caused by a drop in trans-shipment in the first half of 2009 in Ijmuiden, however, the second half of 2009 saw traffic picking up again. For the coming year the Port of Amsterdam expects the current trans-shipment volumes to stabilise. While a number of relevant sectors are still feeling the impact of the crisis, the port may benefit from a slight economic growth that is expected for 2010. In response to these developments CEO Dertje Meijer said: “In spite of the economic crisis the Port of Amsterdam only saw a 3% decline in trans-shipment. Compared to other ports, we are still doing very well. Our market share is expected to increase to 8.2%. This means that after Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg we are the fourth largest port of North West Europe, and I am proud of this.” Some good news for Amsterdam is the progress being made on the new sea lock at the port. The construction of a major new sea lock that should simplify large vessel access to the Amsterdam port region is a step nearer reality. Early in January 2010, at the annual port guild dinner, Transport Minister Eurlings, Port Alderman Freek Ossel and North-Holland Provincial Deputy Elisabeth Post signed a finance covenant. The Minister will now be launching a further Plan Study on lock construction. The current lock complex allowing vessels to transit from the North Sea to the port of Amsterdam consists of four lock units. The largest, known as the Noordersluis lock, sees over 80% of all cargo for Amsterdam. At a width of 45 meters the lock is now too narrow for many of today’s larger container and bulk cargo vessels. Over recent years the port region has grown at such a rate that the capacity of the lock complex is at its limit. The Noordersluis lock was constructed in 1929 and is due for replacement within the coming 20 years. The new lock costs have been estimated at something over Euro 700 million. It will take about three years to confirm the lock dimensions, location, construction method and whether environmental demands will be met. Minister Eurlings expects the new lock to be operational in 2016 commenting: “After years of talking the time has come for d
ecisiveness and ambition. I am happy we are going for it together as we have the same objectives and recognise the need. And with insight into the financial situation we can invest best efforts to promptly and efficiently realise the project, one that matters so much to the region.”
Port of Antwerp
After seven record years in a row the port of Antwerp experienced a drop in freight volume in 2009 due to the economic recession. The final result for the year is expected to be around 158 million tonnes. Nevertheless, Antwerp managed to maintain its status as the second-largest port in Europe, and has now positioned itself as the second port for container handling. This is down by 31.5 million tonnes (16.7%) compared with the previous year. At just over 100 million tonnes, the amount of general cargo handled in the port was down by about 18% compared with 2008. Conventional general cargo with 10.3 million tonnes was responsible for a sharp drop in this segment, having lost 6.6 million tonnes (39.4%). This also had repercussions on port employment, as handling this type of freight is highly labour-intensive. Accordingly, unemployment among dockers was the highest it had been in the past 15 years. The container volume stabilised after the first quarter, with the final figure being estimated at 87 million tonnes (down 14.1%). There was a significant shift in trade in this segment in particular, with shipping companies cutting entire loops and using fewer and above all larger vessels. Against this background the new regulations for upstream and downstream navigation on the Scheldt are important confirmation of Antwerp’s accessibility. The new regulations were given final approval by the Permanent Commission for Supervision of Scheldt Navigation on 9 December. As many as 30 of the very largest container carriers called at Antwerp during the trial period that ran from 7 April to the middle of November. The deepening of the navigation channel in the Western Scheldt will further strengthen Antwerp’s position in future. “We expect the dredging work to go ahead in January or February, as soon as the Dutch Council of State has reached its decision,” said Port Authority Chairman Marc Van Peel and CEO Eddy Bruyninckx. Bulk freight is expected to finish the year with 57.3 million tonnes, down 14% on the previous year. The decrease is entirely due to dry bulk. There were significant decreases in coal (down 36%) and ore (down 65%), mainly due to the crisis in the steel industry. Liquid bulk, in particular petrochemical products, remained very stable (up 0.9%), supporting Antwerp’s position as the world’s second-largest petrochemical cluster. Antwerp Port Authority took a number of measures at the beginning of 2009 in support of port users. These included cashflow management measures and freezing of the port dues at their 2008 level. These preemptive measures were extended in the second half of 2009: the port dues and concession fees are being kept at their 2009 level in 2010, which in practice means that most rates will stay at their 2008 level. Further, in order to combat loss of freight volume and dock employment in the general cargo sector, a tariff reduction of 10% for this category was approved in principle. Looking to the future the Port Authority has set down its ambitions for the coming years in a 2009-2013 Business Plan that will be submitted to the Flemish government in accordance with the Ports Decree. The port seeks to excel in vitality, efficiency, sustainability and consensus, and to become the leading port in Europe for general cargo (conventional and containerised).
Port of Oostende
The port of Oostende felt the impact of the economic crisis strongly in 2009. In the first half of 2009, the port saw a 30% drop in total traffic. A number of port users faced difficult times and that led to the postponement of many pledged new investments by logistics groups in the inner port. Moreover Cobelfret withdrew its operations from Oostende in the middle of this year. The port reports that that a total traded tonnage of only 5.5 million tons has hit hard. This has compelled the port to alter its strategic plan this year and to look for new opportunities. Besides the Ro-Ro business, which remains an important pillar at the port, renewable energy is being fully explored and is almost the only sector that can currently keep its head above water. For 2010, the Port of Oostende is optimistic and expects to see some growth in traffic but is not giving figures at this time. Some good news for the port is the ongoing project to enlarge the port entrance and create a new access channel that can accommodate longer vessels. The dredging of the new access channel should be completed in February 2010. The construction of a new eastern wall is already underway and work will start on the new western wall this year. The development of the Plassendale industrial and logistics park adjacent to the port is a longstanding part of Ostend’s expansion strategy and about 30% of the total area available is now occupied. In 2009 several projects were put on hold because of the downturn but little by little interest is now returning, said commercial manager Jan Allaert. “Plassendale remains very important for us, as most of the new players actively use the port.”
Port of Zeebrugge
The Port of Zeebrugge has withstood the economic downturn reporting a decline in volumes of just 0.4% for the eight months from January to August 2009. Managing director Joachim Coens is forecasting that the year will finish with similar overall tonnage to 2008, when the port handled just over 42 million tonnes. “We had a difficult time from January to May, then from May onwards it was better, particularly in the container sector,” he said. Container throughput increased by 9% overall for the eight months, “which is important because it is 50% of our cargo,” he added. “There were only a few negative months for containers and since May it has been positive. One factor is that there has been some rescheduling of services and we have, of course, the biggest vessels; also we are mainly focused on Asian traffic, so we are less affected by transatlantic, and since May we have benefited from the Far East recovery. Then of course there is feedering: we believe we are seeing a switch from ro-ro to containers to the UK, especially as western European cargo is being replaced with Far Eastern cargo. Our strength is definitely that we are on the coast — an important factor for the deep-sea container vessels, which can be quickly in and out, and that is also important for trans-shipment.” Other high notes at Zeebrugge have included an increase in liquid bulks and g
as, including liquefied natural gas. Four additional storage tanks were installed at the port last year. In terms of ro-ro Zeebrugge saw a 30% fall in the first eight months, although according to Coens there are signs of an improvement. “Ro-ro is mainly to do with the UK, of course, and ro-ro traffic to the UK was down well before the financial crisis started.” Ro-ro traffic has been positively affected by the reopening of the Zeebrugge-Rosyth route in May, by Norfolkline, the expansion of Transfennica’s services to Bilbao, now five times a week, and the launch of a new service to Santander by UECC, three times a week. The most dramatic fall has been in car traffic, which started to slow in October 2008 and increasingly fell back from January 2009. In December 2009 the new bridge over the Connection dock was officially opened. The bridge connects the terminals around the Northern Inlet dock with the southern part of the Zeebrugge inner port. The Zeebrugge port authority invested Euro 5 million in this project in order to optimise and speed up its automotive logistics. The car port aims at safeguarding its pole position in the world. By road the northern and southern parts of the Zeebrugge inner port are 12 kilometers apart but this new bridge shortens the distance to a mere 2 kilometers. It reduces the operational costs and the port handling times and lowers the traffic on the other roads in the port. Despite the recession, Zeebrugge is moving ahead with the development of its 110 ha logistics zone next to the port operational area, linked by road, rail, sea and inland waterway. The new zone will be supplied with a high level of green energy through solar and wind power projects, and includes Efico’s Euro 30m new carbon-neutral coffee import centre, due to be operational in January. The port has also opened a new border inspection post, reflecting an increase in reefer throughput and an expectation of further growth in food cargoes. There are plans to build a new lock in 2012-2013, which would open up new operational land. According to Coens environmental studies are going ahead and the port is talking about financing with the government. The port is also exploring the potential of widening an existing inland waterway to enable the transit of vessels up to 4,500 tonnes directly into the Ghent region and on into France. Zeebrugge has regular estuary barges that have special permission to run along the coastline, taking containers and ro-ro units into the Scheldt.
Zeeland Ports
The port of Vlissingen at the North site of the Western Scheldt and the port of Terneuzen at the south site, together form the Port of Zeeland. This port is one of the most ideally situated ports in the northwestern part of Europe, being located at the Westerschelde, between Rotterdam and Antwerp, with an open connection to the North Sea. Traditionally, imports are the main trans-shipment activity in the ports of Zeeland. By sea, more products enter the port than leave it. Strikingly, exports did relatively better (at -13%) than imports (-19%) during the first nine months of 2009. According to a press statement by Zeeland Ports the reason why the recovery was less marked on the import side than for exports is related to the fact that, in mid 2009, Total and EPZ were undergoing major maintenance work, as a result of which they needed less feedstocks for their production. This had a direct impact on import figures. According to Zeeland the decline is easing slightly in all product groups. The increased activity in the ports of Zeeland is also expressed in the steady and even improved situation with respect to employment. Large projects such as Glastuinbouw Terneuzen, Dow Service Center and the Fluor Project (Verbrugge) will create many jobs. Surrounding ports also announced their figures in October 2009. Rotterdam recorded a fall of 12% (was 13% in the first six months); Antwerp saw a 19% decline in turnover (was 20%) and Ghent was 25% down. This tentative recovery does not yet constitute a guarantee for further improvement in throughput figures. It could still take some time before throughput returns to the 2008 level. Then, record throughput of more than 33 million tonnes was achieved. Despite this, the recovery does show that Zeeland Seaports is continuing to hold its own on the market, as a port. The fact that this year’s figures incorporate the two incidental circumstances referred to earlier, which put pressure on throughput (Total and EPZ), and that the Scaldia Terminal will go into operation next year, means that the expectation of 2010 being a better year is justified say Zeeland Ports.
Ghent Port
In 2009 the Port of Ghent recorded a total of 16.8 million tonnes, representing a decline of 28.7% (6.8 million tonnes) against 2008 when the port handled a record total of 23.6 million tonnes. Compared to 2007 total cargo traffic decreased by 19.5%. Sas van Rouveroij van Nieuwaal, president of Ghent Port Company comments: “In spite of the decreasing figures, I look forward with confidence to the future of Ghent port. Just look at the companies that are active in the sector of bio fuels. The new Kluizendok is equally banking on the future.” According to General Manager, Daan Schalck “the strongest risers can be perceived for liquid bulk, building materials and slag sand. The largest decreases on the other hand were recorded for the steel and the car industries.”During the first half of the year, port of Ghent recorded seaborne cargo traffic of 9.3 million tonnes. In 2008 this amounted to 13.6 million tonnes. For the first six months this represented a decrease of 31.84 % (-4.3 million tonnes). Goods trans-shipment by inland navigation accounted for 7.5 million tonnes as against 10 million tonnes in 2008. With a 24.5% drop (-2.5 million tonnes) inland navigation is holding up better than seagoing navigation. In percentages, the first quarter recorded an overall trans-shipment decrease of 23% and for the second quarter by 33%. In particular the month of May registered an absolute low concerning the supply of goods. Sas van Rouveroij van Nieuwaal comments: “There is one bright spot, which is that in June the decrease was considerably lower than the one in May. Moreover, it can be noticed that in Ghent port, quality on a European and even on a world level, is maintained as is shown by the reopening of the second blast-furnace and the start of additional activity at ArcelorMittal.”