Jun.23--THE first commercial cargo was transshipped on the inner waters of Maasvlakte 2 at the Port of Rotterdam that is to be completed in phases at one of the two specially designed berths.
The oil products were transshipped from the 76,061-dwt Blue Marlin to the 72,365-dwt Chemtrans Sea, said the port authority, adding that containers will be handled there by the end of the year.
"As the berths are sheltered, it is possible to work faster, more reliably and more safely than on the open sea," said the statement.
The cargo handling facilities in the northwest corner of Maasvlakte 2 are an expansion of the existing ship-to-ship locations in the port. For the new berths, two sets of eight large poles have been assembled.
At these sites, ships with a length of 225 to 350 metres can moor. The maximum depth of water is 23.65 metres. Both fuels and other liquid cargo, as well as, dry goods such as coal and grains can be transshipped.
The port authority hopes that the new location will attract transshipment operations, which currently take place ship to ship at sea, for example, off the southeast coast of England and in Skagen, Denmark.
The handling of dry bulk at the new berths represents an expansion of the total capacity of the bulk terminals in the port, using floating cranes supplied mainly by the terminals.