The Port of Rotterdam Authority has projected that its throughput will be minimally impacted by the Red Sea disruptions.
The port anticipates a 1.25 million-tonne decline in throughput in 2023, owing mostly to delays associated with the year-end shift. This predicted drop is likely to have a favourable impact on the 2024 results.
As a result, containerships are experiencing longer journey durations of 8 to 12 days. Bulk ships, which generally travel at a pace of 24 kilometres per hour rather than the standard 33 kilometres per hour, are experiencing delays ranging from 11 to 18 days.
The Suez Canal route between Singapore and Rotterdam is 15,349 kilometres, while the route via the Cape of Good Hope is 21,770 kilometres.
The Port of Rotterdam Authority estimates that these disruptions will reduce throughput volume by approximately 1.25 million tonnes in December. To put this in context, the overall throughput volume at the Port of Rotterdam in 2022 was reportedly 467 million tonnes.
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According to the Port of Rotterdam Authority, container traffic will drop by around 65,000 TEU, or 0.65 million tonnes, over the final two weeks of December.
The Port of Rotterdam estimates that the possible impact on liquid bulk transhipment, including oil, oil products, and palm oil, is no more than 0.5 million tonnes.
Although around 2.4 million tonnes of liquid bulk from Rotterdam pass via the Suez Canal each month, not all bulk ships have chosen to reroute.
Approximately 0.5 million tonnes of dry bulk, comprising commodities such as coal and iron ore, are carried across the Suez Canal to Rotterdam monthly. The Port of Rotterdam predicts a maximum effect of around 0.1 million tonnes on this type of cargo.
In December 2023, the Port of Rotterdam announced that Thecla Bodewes and Jacqueline Prins joined its Supervisory Board.
