Maastank and the Port of Rotterdam Authority have signed the contract for the expansion of the current site in the Botlek, from 17,000 to 21,500 m2. This will enable Maastank to enlarge the specialised tank storage of vegetable oils from 40,000 to 90,000 m3 in the coming years.
Sixteen small, high-quality tanks will be installed in 2013 for special oils, with a total capacity of 8000 m3. The rest of the new capacity will consist of larger tanks of around 3500 m3 for storing bulk vegetable oils. The expansion of the site also gives Maastank a larger waterfront – the jetty capacity can thus be expanded so that sea tankers can transfer directly to inland tankers. The total expansion over the coming years entails an investment of € 30 million.
Maastank
Maastank is a specialised terminal for the storage and transhipment of vegetable oils and fats as well as raw materials for the oleochemical industry. The company currently has 48 tanks with a capacity of 40,000 m3. The central Botlek Geul location of Maastank has one berth for seagoing ships and two berths for inland vessels. Maastank is owned by Fluvia and Dekker, which (together with Remia) are also shareholders in MaasRefinery. This “speciality refinery” for vegetable oils in small lots is located on the same site.
Fluvia and Dekker
Fluvia specialises in inland tanker shipping, tank container transport and tank storage of vegetable and mineral oils and liquid chemicals, and in brokering tanker transport by sea for these products. It has more than fifty specialised inland tankers. Coinciding with the signing ceremony on 15 November, Fluvia christened its latest inland tanker for mineral oil, the Piz Roseg (2700 tonnes), at the Maastank jetty. Dekker transports high-grade vegetable oils and oleochemicals in refined form and as end products by tank truck throughout Europe. The company has its own tank storage premises in Ouderkerk aan de IJssel in the Netherlands and in Poland.
Port of Rotterdam and Vegetable Oils
The port of Rotterdam is by far the most important centre in Europe for the supply, transhipment, storage and processing of vegetable and animal oils and fats. The major oils in terms of volume are palm oil, soya oil and rape oil. Smaller volume products are peanut oil and fish oil. The oils and fats are mainly used in foodstuffs, but also as raw materials for oleochemical products (cosmetics, resins, paints) and bio fuels. Waste edible oils and fats are also processed for the production of bio fuels.
Besides Maastank, there are two larger specialised storage terminals: Koole Pernis and Vopak Vlaardingen. Together with Botlek Tank Terminal, they represent a storage capacity of 1.2 million m3. Five specialised refineries are located in the port area: MaasRefinery (Botlek), Wilmar (Pernis), Cargill (Botlek), IOI Loders Croklaan (Maasvlakte) and Sime Darby Unimills (Zwijndrecht). Together they can produce around 3.5 million tonnes of raw materials for foodstuffs and oleochemical products. Every year, Neste Oil (Maasvlakte) converts used and new oils and fats into 800,000 tonnes of renewable diesel. ADM in Europoort presses rapeseed and soya beans into oil. The transhipment of vegetable and animal oils and fats in the port of Rotterdam amounts to around 7 million tonnes per year (excluding inland shipping).
Picture: impression of the new Maastank terminal
