233.5m tonnes of cargo moved through the port in the first six months of 2022, up from 231.6m tonnes in the same period in 2021.

“Container transport to and from Russia has come to a halt, and persistent bottlenecks in global container logistics caused cargo to shift from large to smaller container ports. In anticipation of the sanctions on coal and oil, less Russian coal, crude oil, oil products and LNG were imported in recent months. Companies are increasingly importing from other countries,” said the port.

Revenue at the Port Authority increased by 6.3% to €412.2m in the first half, with operating expenses falling by 2.4%.

High energy costs contributed to a 15.1% drop in agribulk and a 20.6% drop in iron ore imports, but also to a 29.7% increase in coal throughput. Other dry bulk also increased by 30.1% as high container freight rates pushed some cargoes from containers to bulk including minerals and fertilisers. Overall, dry bulk volumes rose 4.4% in the first half.

Container throughput dropped 4.4% in teu terms, 8.9% by weight; the result is the combination of losing Russian containerised freight and ongoing container disruption causing delays and incentivising a shift to smaller ports.

The Russia effect was again seen in the liquid bulk segment, where LNG rose by 45.8% as Europe looked for a replacement for Russian pipeline gas; a 4.3% increase in crude oil throughput was mostly due to Russian oil flowing through Rotterdam to India. Overall, liquid bulk was up by 4.6%.

“It was possible to see a shift in the origin of imports of coal, crude oil, oil products and LNG in the second quarter. Companies are sourcing these energy carriers and raw materials less and less from Russia and purchasing them elsewhere in the world,” said the port.

Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority: ‘The business community has made a commitment in the last half year to invest € 3 billion in the energy transition. In addition to the vulnerability of the European energy system, nitrogen emissions continue to be a major bottleneck. Several major projects, including the CO2 capture and storage project Porthos, are being delayed or threatened by delays due to uncertainty and restrictions associated with nitrogen emission’.

Port of Rotterdam said it had ambitions in the energy transition and that national and European regulatory policies were becoming clearer, allowing for investment decisions for a major biorefinery and Europe’s largest green-hydrogen plant.

“In addition, companies have made a definitive decision to expand an ammonia import terminal, increase battery recycling capacity, build a hydrogen refuelling station for trucks and implement a shore power project. These investment decisions by the business community add up to a total amount of approx. € 3bn,” said the port.

Nitrogen emissions are proving a hinderance to development decisions as rules in the Netherlands on reducing nitrogen deposition remain unclear, preventing investment in projects which would result in lower nitrogen and carbon emissions.

In its outlook, the port noted an uncertain geopolitical situation, not least of all when it comes to European energy supply amid the war in Ukraine and tensions with Russia.

“Energy prices are high, and this is a major factor in the sharp rise in inflation. A recession may follow. This makes forecasting throughput volumes for the second half of the year very difficult,” said the port.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports/rotterdam-throughput-inches-despite-russia-losses