Transshipment in the Amsterdam port declined substantially due to the corona crisis and the energy transition. The port authority Port of Amsterdam reports that in 2020, 74.3 million tonnes were transshipped, fourteen per cent less than the 86.9 million tonnes the year before. Coal is one of the big contributors to this drop.
Due to the switch to more sustainable energy, the transshipment of coal decreased by more than half, from over 15.6 million tonnes in 2019 to 7.5 million tonnes in 2020. The decline was due to the closure of the Hemweg power plant in December 2019, the greater availability of renewable energy sources and the low gas price that made coal more expensive, the port authority said about the preliminary figures.
Due to the corona crisis, travel movements came to a halt from mid-March onwards, resulting in less global demand for transport fuels. The transshipment of refined oil products such as diesel and petrol fell by seven per cent to 46.6 million tonnes in 2020, compared to 50 million tonnes in 2019. Freight transport also declined last year. Truck transport via ships fell by almost a quarter, container cargo fell by thirteen per cent.
North Sea Canal
Total transshipment for the ports on the North Sea Canal (Beverwijk, IJmuiden, Zaanstad and Amsterdam) was about 91 million tonnes last year. The year before that it was 105 million tons. In IJmuiden, transshipment declined by four per cent, in Beverwijk by over a quarter. In Zaanstad, on the other hand, transshipment increased slightly due to a growth in bulk.
Few cruise ships
The number of cruise ships also decreased drastically: from 117 in 2019 to zero in the summer months. However, 195 river cruise ships still entered the Amsterdam port when the corona measures were temporarily eased in the summer. A year earlier, there were 2282.
Also read: 11 cruise ships in Dutch ports this year instead of 282
Source: ANP
