Allard Castelein News

Boudewijn Siemons will become interim CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority effective July 15, 2023, taking the reins from Allard Castelein, who is stepping down as CEO this summer after nearly a decade in the position.Siemons, who currently serves as the port's COO, will combine both positions until a new CEO has been appointed.In addition, Vivienne de Leeuw will stay on as CFO. Her term of office has been extended by four years.Miriam Maes, chair of the Supervisory Board, said, "The process of finding a new CEO is still in progress.

Throughput in the port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest sea port, fell 1.5% in the first quarter as high inflation slowed down container traffic, the port's operator said on Monday."Especially in the container segment, we faced a decline in volumes due to high inflation and a weakening economy," port CEO Allard Castelein said in a statement."Results in the other segments mainly show growth and confirm that dependence on Russian energy flows has been further reduced in line with…

A.P. Moller - Maersk's container terminal operating arm APM Terminals announced the expansion of its Maasvlakte II terminal in Rotterdam, increasing the terminal's capacity by approx. 2 million TEU The project involves a site of approximately 47.5 hectares with 1,000 meters of deep-sea quay. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is now constructing the new quay walls, which will be completed by mid-2024. The new section is expected to be operational in the second half of 2026.APM Terminals opened at Maasvlakte II in 2015 as a fully automated facility with zero carbon emissions.

The Port of Rotterdam on Monday said it will help develop a 14,000 square metre factory for Battolyser Systems, a company that designs combined battery and green hydrogen production machines.Financial terms were not disclosed.The port, which has announced a series of hydrogen-related deals this year, said it views the company, a spin-off from the Delft University of Technology, as an anchor for a part of the port that will be devoted to companies helping to get carbon out of supply chains."Companies in the port are already actively working on projects regarding production…

Throughput volumes for Europe's largest port of Rotterdam have risen 0.3% to 351 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2022, officials said on Friday, as strong rises in coal and LNG offset the loss of container traffic with Russia.Such traffic, which had made up around 8% of Rotterdam's total in recent years, had "practically stopped", they said, while LNG and coal replaced Russian energy sources such as natural gas that would have come to Europe by pipeline."The total volume makes it seem as if it is business as usual in the port…

The Port of Rotterdam has blazed a path for ports globally in terms of automation, digitalization and decarbonization. As he enters the final year of his tenure, Allard Castelein, CEO, Port of Rotterdam, says there is still much work to do.While many global organizations are adept at ‘talking the talk’, the Port of Rotterdam stands out as ‘walking the walk’ in regards to real investment and innovation in robotics, digitalization and infrastructure improvements to facilitate the efficient, effective transfer of ship’s cargo for distribution globally.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the world’s longest Green and Digital Corridor to enable low and zero carbon shipping.Signed by Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, and Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre on the sidelines of the biennial World Cities Summit, the MoU will bring together stakeholders across the supply chain to realize the first sustainable vessels sailing on the route by 2027.

The volume of total cargo throughput in the port of Rotterdam was 0.8% higher in the first half of the year (233.5 million tonnes) than in the same period in 2021 (231.6 million tonnes). In many segments, the war in Ukraine led to significant changes. For example, imports of both LNG and coal rose very sharply as an alternative to reduced European imports of Russian gas by pipeline. The throughput of crude oil increased, with oil products falling off. Throughput of iron ore, agricultural…

Freight volumes in the port of Rotterdam increased 15% on a yearly basis in the third quarter as international trade continued to recover from its COVID-19 slump, Europe's largest sea port said on Tuesday.Trade flows to and from Rotterdam have been almost 9% higher in the first nine months of the year, with strong growth in almost all segments, the port said."These figures show that the economy is continuing its upward path.

Freight volumes in the Port of Rotterdam fell 6.9% in 2020 because of the coronavirus crisis, the biggest drop in about a decade but smaller than had been expected, Europe’s largest sea port said on Friday.The port's Chief Executive Allard Castelein told reporters he expected a recovery that began in the second half of 2020 to continue this year but said throughput was not expected to reach pre-crisis levels in 2021.The fall in traffic in 2020 was the largest since 2009, taking throughput down to levels last seen in 2011, he said.Traffic took a big hit in the first phase of the pandemic, as tr

Freight volumes in the Port of Rotterdam improved in the third quarter after the deep slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the first half of the year, Europe's largest sea port said on Wednesday.Throughput of agribulk, iron ore, biomass and goods transported by trucks on ferries showed a marked improvement at the end of the third quarter, the port said, while the number of containers that arrived in Rotterdam also increased."Many segments showed a marked improvement in their throughput volumes in comparison with the second quarter"…

The world's largest containership HMM Algeciras made its first European port call this week, entering Rotterdam’s Amaliahaven Wednesday on its maiden voyage to transfer containers at the Rotterdam World Gateway (RWG) terminal.The most recent vessel to hold the world’s largest containership crown, HMM Algeciras at maximum capacity carries slightly more 20-foot containers than its predecessor MSC Gülsün: 23,964 TEU versus 23,756 TEU. During its maiden voyage, HMM Algeciras is carrying a total of 19…

Throughput at the Port of Rotterdam is set to drop by up to 20% this year as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts production and trade worldwide, Europe's largest sea port said on Thursday.Throughput of containers, coal, oil products and other bulk goods already declined 9.3% in the first quarter from a year earlier, the port authority said, as economies around the globe shut down in an attempt to contain the coronavirus outbreak."We are facing unprecedented disruptions", the port's…

The world's most powerful semi-submersible crane vessel received the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering ever completed.On Thursday, Titan LNG performed the bunkering of Heerema's Sleipnir, using the Coral Fraseri, Anthony Veder's LNG carrier in the Port of Rotterdam. The total quantity of LNG delivered was almost 3,300 metric tons, making this the largest LNG bunkering to have ever taken place. Sleipnir arrived at the Port of Rotterdam on Sunday, March 22, following a global campaign, and the LNG bunkering delivery took less then 24 hours to complete.

The number of container ships travelling from China to the port of Rotterdam seems to have recovered slightly, as coronavirus measures that had significantly curbed traffic from China have been eased, the port's CEO said on Monday."A few weeks ago we estimated that the number of ships leaving ports in China had dropped by about 20%", the Chief Executive of Europe's largest port, Allard Castelein, told Dutch radio broadcaster BNR."This seems to have recovered somewhat, but we also…

The largest seaport in Europe Port of Rotterdam saw a freight throughput of 469.4 million tonnes in 2019, fractionally higher than in 2018 (469 million tonnes).According to a release, investments by the Port of Rotterdam Authority were again at a high level, with gross investments including participation amounting to €338.3 million (2018: €408.1 million). The net result excluding taxes amounted to €241 million (2018: €254.1 million).Significant underlying shifts were observable between the various commodities. Whereas crude oil, container, LNG and biomass throughput increased, coal and mineral oil product throughput decreased.Over the past year significant progress has been made with digitization and the energy transition…

The city council of Rotterdam has adopted the revised Port Vision. The creation of economic and societal value and realizing sustainable growth form the core of the revised Port Vision.The revised Port Vision was approved by the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s Supervisory Board earlier this year. Now that the city council of Rotterdam has also adopted the revised Port Vision, this finally replaces Port Vision 2030, which dates from 2011.Allard Castelein, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO said: "An intensive process has resulted in a fantastic and widely supported vision that focuses on further increasing the Port of Rotterdam’s leading position…

The Port of Rotterdam announced  a 1% rise in cargo handing, after it handled 112.4 million tonnes of freight, meaning that the total of 353.5 million tonnes were transmitted up to the end of the third quarter.Volume growth was mainly driven by containers, crude oil, LNG and biomass. There was a reduction in the transshipment of coal and mineral oil products.Allard Castelein, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO: "In the third quarter we again saw healthy growth in terms of containers, one of the Port Authority’s strategic spearheads. What is worrying, however, is that the relationship between the world’s major trading blocs remains strained…

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has launched a new container tracking application Boxinsider allowing shippers and freight forwarders to locate their containers at any given moment.Boxinsider draws on status information from container vessels and inland and deep-sea terminals, tracking containers and determining arrival and departure times for vessels, as well as container unloading and departures at container terminals. Users are also warned about any delays or disruptions."When I order a book online, I can almost follow the package live," explains CEO Allard Castelein. "With Boxinsider, we are now presenting a similar solution for containers. By developing digital applications, we are making our port even more efficient, safer and more reliable.

Industry in Rotterdam is working on a series of projects with which a total of 20 to 25% of the Dutch CO2 reduction target for 2030 can be achieved. Virtually all of the projects require the government to play an active role."It’s precisely because so many transition projects are taking place in a small part of the Netherlands that custom solutions are needed for this area. The energy transition is a complex issue and many of the projects are interconnected. This calls for an integrated approach from the cluster and close cooperation between government, businesses and the Port Authority. If we complete all of our ongoing projects, we will achieve three times as much CO2 reduction here as we would need to if the emissions reduction target were to be divided equally across Dutch industry…

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has made a strong commitment to the energy transition and aims to establish Rotterdam as Europe’s leading port in offshore wind and the offshore sector in general.The Port has reached an agreement with Sif Holding, where the latter already works on the assembly of foundations for offshore wind turbines.Sif Group’s decision to establish and further expand its location in the port contributes to the ambition. Together with its partners, the Port Authority will be working hard to promote offshore wind as the premier source of renewable energy. It will be focusing on a number of activities in this context: innovation…

Port of Rotterdam Authority has launched new company PortXchange Products BV  to make digital shipping app Pronto available to ports worldwide.PortXchange is set up to offer the Pronto platform and application to ports around the world over the next few years. The establishment of a separate company will enable partnerships with a variety of global players.Together with strategic partners Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited and A.P. Moller - Maersk, PortXchange will initially offer Pronto to several ports outside the Netherlands.The launch of PortXchange provides a platform to create new strategic partnerships with ports, shipping companies and terminals, geared towards implementing smart digital solutions like Pronto in ports worldwide.

Port of Rotterdam posted a record overall freight tonnage in the first quarter of 2019, up 5.1% on the same period last year, thanks to strong growth in container traffic.In total, 123.9 million tonnes were handled compared with 117.8 million tonnes in the same period in 2018."The increase mainly concerned the throughput of containers (+7.3% in TEU, +5.9% in tonnes) and fuels. Mineral oil products, iron ore and scrap throughput fell," said a press release from the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam.Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority: "We had an excellent start to 2019 with record throughput volumes in the first quarter.