Maasvlakte II officially opens

APM Terminals Maasvlakte II Rotterdam facility has officially opened promising to set new standards in safety, automation and zero emissions

The terminal’s power requirements are provided by wind-generated electricity, enabling terminal operations, which produce no CO2, emissions or pollutants, to be considerably quieter than conventional diesel-powered facilities.

APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer said: “APM Terminals Maasvlakte II is clearly a game-changer port in the shipping industry designed to exceed our customers’ expectations. It runs on a zero emissions, sustainable business model using renewable energy, benefitting the people of Rotterdam and Europe.”

He added that equally important is that shipping line customers will experience 40% higher productivity, thanks to automation.

Maasvlakte II is the world’s first container terminal to utilise remotely-controlled STS gantry cranes which move containers between vessels and the landside fleet of 62 battery-powered Lift-Automated Guided Vehicles (Lift-AGVs). These Lift-AGVs transport containers between the quay and the container yard, including barge and on-dock rail facilities.

The facility, constructed on land entirely reclaimed from the North Sea, has been designed as a multi-modal hub to reduce truck traffic in favour of barge and rail connections to inland locations.

The 86 hectare (212 acre) deep-water terminal features 1,000m of quay, on-dock rail, and eight fully-automated electric-powered Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes, with an annual throughput capacity of 2.7 million teu, representing an APM Terminals investment of €500 million.

At planned full build-out, the terminal will cover 180 hectares (445 acres) and offer 2,800m of deep-sea quay (19.65 m/64.5 feet depth), with an annual throughput capacity of 4.5 million teu.