Rotterdam coal shipments expected to increase by 40%, plans to build new terminals in the future

Intern reporter Gao Ge, chief executive of the Port of Rotterdam Port Authority in the Netherlands, said that due to the gradual phase-out of nuclear power plants in Germany and the conversion of thermal coal to electricity, the coal traffic volume through this port will increase by about 20% to 40 on the basis of 28.6 million tons last year. %.

In an interview with foreign media, Smith expects that the total amount of thermal coal passing through the port of Rotterdam will increase by 5 million to 10 million tons. At the same time, biofuels used for engine power with coal will also grow significantly. These energy sources will be mainly shipped to Germany. He said, “The growth of incoming cargo volume will stabilize this year due to the global economic instability. However, the debt crisis in the Eurozone has not had a major impact on the cargo throughput of the Port of Rotterdam, and the port has not targeted the possible euro. Disintegration of the district has developed a contingency plan.” Earlier this year, Mr. Smith stated that “The Port of Rotterdam will continue to maintain a high level of cargo volume, with even a slight increase.” In 2012, the total throughput of the port is expected to be higher. Based on 434 million tons, it is forecasted to have a growth rate of less than 0.5% to 1%. Among them, container throughput will increase by 3% to 5%.

The proposed new terminal for the import of Russian oil Rotterdam has three refineries and is the center of European crude oil processing. Most of these crude oils come from Saudi Arabia. However, the low profits of refineries resulted in a reduction in the import volume of crude oil in 2011. Smith said that this situation will change in the next few years. The port of Rotterdam plans to build a new terminal and become a distribution hub for Russian oil.

The new crude oil terminal will be jointly constructed by Vitol Tanker Terminal International (VTTI) and Russia's SUMMA Group. VTTI will invest $1 billion in the construction of the terminal. Smith said that the terminal will bring more energy security to the three refineries in the port. The construction of the terminal will begin in 2013 and will be fully operational in 2015. The terminal has a throughput of 2 million tons of crude oil and 1 million tons of refined oil products.

Smith stressed that the global financial crisis will not affect the €3 billion expansion of the Port of Rotterdam. The construction of the project, known as the second phase of the Marshall area, will expand the existing size of the port by one-fifth, and it will be put into commercial operation in 2014.