Transhipment in the port of Rotterdam remained virtually the same last year. This is evident from the figures of the Port of Rotterdam Authority were presented on Thursday. The total amount of goods transhipped in Rotterdam remained stable at 467.4 million tonnes compared to 2021 (468.7 million tonnes). Still, according to the port authority, the war in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and the weakening economy are causing major changes, especially in the trade in oil and gas.
For example, the port authority registered a drop in container throughput by 5.5 percent in numbers. This decrease is mainly due to the virtual standstill of container traffic to and from Russia. The supply of liquefied gas, especially from the US, increased by almost 64 percent, as an alternative to Russian gas. The organization noted that significantly fewer oil products, including fuel oil, were processed in the containers, a decrease of about 11 percent. On the other hand, the supply of liquefied natural gas increased sharply as an alternative to Russian gas.
Coal imports also increased by 18 percent. For electricity generation, coal is considered a cheap way to generate power. But burning coal is best known for its polluting impact.
During the presentation, director of the Port of Rotterdam Authority Allard Castelein discussed, among other things, the impact of the war in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and the consequences for the Northwest European energy supply. He warned that the Netherlands and Europe are in danger of falling behind in the production of renewable energy. He also pointed to the still unresolved nitrogen dossier. According to Castelein, the war in Ukraine has exposed the risks of “heavy dependence on one or a few countries for crucial sectors”. The war, he says, should serve as an incentive “to strengthen the resilience of the Netherlands and Europe in the field of energy and industry”.
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