Port Coordination Centre News

Port of Rotterdam is set to welcome Heerema's Sleipnir, the world's largest semi-submersible crane vessel, which is set to arrive at the port on Saturday, March 21, where it will be made ready for a North Sea decommissioning project.Named after the Norse God Odin's eight-legged stallion, the vessel stands at 220 meters long, 102 meters wide, can accommodate 400 employees, and weighs 119,000 tons and is the first such unit powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The semi-submersible vessel has two cranes onboard, each capable of lifting 10,000 metric tons.

René de Vries has been appointed (State) Harbour Master of Rotterdam, taking office on 1 March 2010. That is the date on which the current Harbour Master Jaap Lems retires. The port of Rotterdam is not unknown territory for De Vries. He began his career with the Port Authority in 1982, as crew member on one of the patrol vessels. Through the years, he has progressed to his present position, as manager of the Traffic Planning & Operations department, which has 220 staff. The (State) Harbour Master is responsible for the fast, safe and clean handling of shipping traffic in the port of Rotterdam.