The port of Rotterdam is the first European port to have handled 10 million container units (teu) in a single year. To celebrate this milestone, this morning Hans Smits, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, presided over the shipping of a specially painted container at the ECT Delta terminal. The box is destined for one of the Right To Play projects in the world.

A number of containers containing some 40,000 footballs are being shipped to projects in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tanzania, Mero Lebanon, Indonesia, the occupied Palestinian territories, Ghana and Benin. The special record container bearing the words 'Where is this 10th mln container of Rotterdam going to?' will find its way to one of these countries. Terminals, shipping companies and other service providers give their services free of charge to ship the goods. Those contributing to the campaign are: ECT, APM Rotterdam, VAT Logistics, the agents CMA CGM, Evergreen, Hamburg S'd, Maersk, MSC and Neptumar, VRC, Pingpong, Graffitinetwerk, Freek van Arkel and AM+D. In addition, the Port Authority donated a sum of '10,000 in support of the work of Right To Play. This international humanitarian organization aims, through sports and games, to contribute to the development and health of children in the most deprived areas of the world.

In 1968 some 117,000 teu were handled in Rotterdam. The threshold of one million (1,116,000) was passed in 1970, and then five million (5,495,000) in 1997. If we were to put 10 million teu containers end to end, they would stretch one and a half times round the world.

Container transshipment continues round the clock: every hour more than 1,100 teu of up to 20 tons per unit are unloaded and loaded. In 2020 this is expected to be two and a half times more, 25 million teu a year.