Rotterdam is strategically situated right on the North Sea. The port has unrestricted 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week accessibility. Ships can always enter and leave the port safely without the hassle of locks, and supported by the very best nautical service providers.
There are also regular connections with around 200 other European ports: from the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula and the Baltic States to Russia, often with several services a day. Destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, North Africa and the Canary Islands are also easily accessible.
In the port of Rotterdam, the shortsea shipping services are clustered around the Waalhaven/Eemhaven area, and are close to the European market. Here, shippers, shipping agents and forwarders can choose from several specialised container terminals, each with their own strengths (although flexibility and reliability always head the list). Vessels are quickly loaded and discharged, and containers can be presented for transport until shortly before departure. Also, due to the concentration of many regular services in one location, it is easy to change destinations. The large scale of the services also leads to considerable savings in cost. Unlike in the neighbouring ports, the service continues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The Barge Center Waalhaven, ECT City Terminal, Interforest, Uniport and Rotterdam Shortsea Terminal (RST) all offer customised shortsea services in the Waalhaven/Eemhaven. RST is unique in this respect, because it is the only terminal in Europe to focus exclusively on providing a high quality shortsea shipping service. On the Maasvlakte, the Rotterdam Container Terminal and DFDS Multi Terminal are also dedicated shortsea shipping providers with a competitive range of services.
Many shortsea operators combine their services with feeder cargo, whereby intercontinental shipments go on to their final destinations on a smaller sea-going vessel straight after their arrival in Europe (and the other way round). Thanks to the unlimited access to the largest sea-going vessels and the many feeder facilities, Rotterdam is also the number one port in this area. The combination of feeder and shortsea services makes it possible to have even more departures to even more different destinations.
As a rule, shortsea shipping is a component of door-to-door service within Europe. Clients have a single contact point for the entire journey. With regard to European hinterland transport, Rotterdam offers three competitive modalities, of which rail is becoming increasingly attractive. Since 2007, the port has been the starting point and end point of the Betuweroute, a 160 kilometre dedicated freight line between Rotterdam and Germany, with a direct connection to the extensive Eurpean rail network, which reaches far into Central and Southern Europe (Italy). The port naturally also offers direct access to the European road network, and there are a large number of specialised road hauliers offering their services in and around Rotterdam. Due to Rotterdam’s location directly at the mouths of the Rhine and the Meuse Rivers, inland shipping can also offer an attractive alternative option for shortsea cargo. Freight barges guarantee reliable, cost-effective and environment-friendly transportation deep into the European hinterland.
Rotterdam supports optimal logistics service provision through simple information exchange by means of the Port Community System by Portbase. In their interactions with Customs, the Harbour Master and other public sector authorities, as well as with other service providers in the logistics chain, companies are enabled to work much more efficiently, and thus to save time and money.
