Japan's "K" Line aims to increasingly consolidate its transhipment volumes at the Euromax terminal in Rotterdam.
"K" Line also sees the potential of using extended gates in the hinterland of Rotterdam. "A deep-sea vessel discharges between 2,000 to 4,000 containers at Euromax and let's say 50 percent is destined for the Netherlands, Belgium and the German Ruhr area. What could be better than putting these boxes aboard push barges directly after they have been discharged at the deep-sea terminal is moving them directly to an extended gate such as Moerdijk - an inland port, 60 km from Rotterdam - and from there arrange the further distribution," said Fer Penders, managing director of "K" Line Netherlands.
Penders indicated that "K" Line supports the modal shift that the Port of Rotterdam Authority wants to bring about.
He does, however, warn against taking this challenge too lightly though. "It is important to note that the container volumes are growing as rapidly again as before the economic crisis. So we cannot expect that overall truck transport will decrease. Road transport is a substantial part of our modal split and will continue to be so."
However, Penders does see possibilities for a container transferium to the east of Rotterdam. "To relieve the pressure on the A15 motorway in the port, there are studies to cluster road transport containers before entering Rotterdam, after which barge shuttles will take them to and from the Euromax Terminal. We definitely support these kind of initiatives.''
Cargonews Asia
Login
