Giant Ships Can Meet in Wider Rotterdam Entry Channel

The Port of Rotterdam has dredged the Maasgeul channel to enable large-sized in-bound & out-bound vessels to pass.

Large container ships can now pass each other when entering and leaving the port of Rotterdam. The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management recently widened the Maasgeul for this purpose by a good 250 metres. Sea-going ships with a draught of more than 14.4 metres can only enter or leave the port of Rotterdam via this navigation channel.

The widening of the Maasgeul was designed especially for container ships. These ships are becoming increasingly larger so that more containers can be transported at the same time. The Port of Rotterdam Authority also expects container throughput to grow in the future. But not only container ships will benefit from the widening, the waiting times for other large sea-going ships, such as tankers and bulk carriers, will also be cut.

The widening of the Maasgeul was achieved in six months’ time: around 350,000 cubic metres of clay, sand and peat were dredged from the sea floor to a depth of 21 metres. The Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management will maintain the new section of the navigation channel. If the channel becomes too shallow because it silts up, dredgers will bring it back to the right depth.