(With video and extra pictures) The Port of Rotterdam Authority has inaugurated new dolphins for ship-to-ship transfer at Maasvlakte 2. SWZ Maritime editor Hugo Dill was invited for a trip to these new berths.
Hugo visited the two new multi-user dolphins/location "90" en "91" with the Spido boat Henry Hudson and took the pictures that can be found in the album below (please click the pop-out link (the little squares at the bottom right) to view the pictures in their proper dimensions). In addition, a video from the Port of Rotterdam giving an overview of buoys and dolphins in the port.
With 24 multi-user berths in the Maasvlakte, Europoort, Waalhaven, Botlek and Dordrecht, the Port of Rotterdam offers flexible, efficient and risk-free ship-to-ship transfer facilities for all kinds of cargo. Unhindered by tides orlocks, ships of all sizes have 24/7 access to the buoys and dolphins in Rotterdam's sheltered waters.
New Dolphins
The new cargo handling facilities in the northwest corner of Maasvlakte 2 are an expansion of the already existing ship-to-ship locations in the port. For the new berths, two sets of eight large poles have been erected. At these dolphins, ships with a length of 225 to 350 metres can moor. The maximum depth of water is 23.65 metres NAP (New Amsterdam Water Level). Both fuels and other liquid cargo, as well as dry goods such as coal and grains, can be transhipped at the dolphins. In addition, they are places of refuge for ships in need. Approximately € 9 million was invested in the berths.
The Port Authority hopes the new location will attract transhipment operations which currently take place ship to ship at sea, for example off the Southeast coast of England (Southwold) and Denmark (Skagen).
