By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTWith ships getting bigger and more freight arriving in containers, there are suddenly fewer ports in Northern Europe that will soon be able to handle the ever increasingly intercontinental commercial exchanges in Europe. Exacerbating the problem, Europe’s seaports are tight on space and are challenged by inland transportation requirements. The Port of Rotterdam, currently Europe’s largest seaport, handles twice the freight as Antwerp, Europe’s No. 2 port. Since the late 1990s when 37.5% of Europe’s containerized freight passed through Rotterdam, its position has been slowly declining. In 2006 that percentage dropped to 34.5%. Meanwhile, between 2000 and 2006 Hamburg and Antwerp saw a growth of 100 and 72% respectively, for transshipped containers compared to Rotterdam’s 54% growth rate. The Port 2000 project at France’s Port of Le Havre is projected to double its container business by 2010. Making matters worse, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) are trying to block plans for Rotterdam’s massive Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) terminal at Maasvlakte 2. The environmental group was successful in a similar dispute in 2005. The project now could be in jeopardy. Port officials signed an agreement in September with RWG’s five-member consortium for the first terminal at Maasvlakte 2. RWG consists of stevedore DP World and four shipping companies: New World Alliance (MOL, Hyundai and APL) and CMA CGM. “As APL and our partners bring larger ships into service, this facility will set new standards in delivering operational efficiency and environmental benefits,” says Ron Widdows, CEO of APL. “This will be our main hub in Europe.” Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Executive Vice President Masakazu Yakushiji concurs. “The operation of this new terminal will do much to strengthen our position in Europe and is key to the future.” Given the fact that Rotterdam’s existing port and industrial zone are totally built out, Rotterdam is in urgent need for extra space. By reclaiming land in the North Sea to develop Maasvlakte 2, the Port of Rotterdam Authority will be able to provide 2,500 acres of new industrial sites adjacent to deep water. “Such new terminal locations are very scarce in Europe and this will be even more the case in the next decades,” states Hans Smits, CEO, Port of Rotterdam Authority. The terminal is being designed to have a 1,900-metre long deep-sea quay with a depth of 20 meters, a 550-meter quay for inland shipping and feeder vessels and its own rail terminal with a connection to the Betuwe Route, a dedicated freight railway that will connect Rotterdam directly with Germany from 2007 onwards. With a depth of 20 meters, the largest container ships and chemical tankers will be able to reach their berths unhindered, 24-hours-a-day. It will have a capacity of some four million teus. The terminal will be phased into operation from 2013 onwards. In short, Maasvlakte 2 will expand the port by 20% (measured in hectares) and triple its capacity. Meanwhile, the Port Authority is hard at work building the new Euromax Terminal in the Yangtzehaven, in Maasvlakte 1. It is intended exclusively for container transshipment and is rented to Euromax B.V. The terminal is already projected to be full within just a few years. Terminal operator ECT has been undergoing a major expansion of its Delta Terminal. Late last year 27 deep-sea cranes and one barge crane became operational at the Delta Dedicated West Terminal (DDW) and Delta Dedicated East Terminal (DDE), increasing their capacity by 1.5 million container moves a year. The construction of the DBF involves a quay wall of 800 meters, the whole width of the Delta peninsula. ECT expects to receive the first three quay cranes in March 2008, which will be operational in May 2008. Capacity for Phase I is 300,000 TEU with final capacity three times that much. ECT is also constructing the new “Delta Barge Feeder Terminal‰ (DBF) at Maasvlakte. Completion should be by year’s end. The terminal is