Transhipment volume in the North Sea Canal area, including the ports of Amsterdam, Ijmuiden, Beverwijk and Zaanstad, declined by 5.1% in the first half of 2018.
The Port of Amsterdam’s individual transhipment fell by 4.8% to 40.2 million tonnes, which has been attributed to a decrease in throughput of coal and oil products.
There were increases in other forms of transhipment to offset much of the decline in coal and oil, with dry bulk cargo up 16.8% in Amsterdam, and agribulk up by 18.5% in the first half of the year.
Container transhipment rose the most, increasing by 29.6% to 45,457 TEU between January and June.
Rob Gordijn discusses the mega-project of building Amsterdam's new sea-lock in a recent Port Technology technical paper
This could be due to the arrival of carrier Samskip, which operates a liner service to the UK and also contributed to a higher number of ship visits in half one of 2018.
Nevertheless, imports still plummeted by 7.8% at the Port of Amsterdam, despite the increase in ship visits.
However, exports increased, but only by 0.1% in the first six months of the year.
Koen Overtoom, CEO of the Port of Amsterdam, said: “The construction boom in the Netherlands is clearly visible in the sharp increase in other dry bulk cargo, which includes sand and gravel.
“The arrival of Samskip also entails strong growth in container transhipment for us and we are seeing strong development in the short sea niche, an area we are focusing.
“We are a truly international trading port, meaning that geopolitical developments affect the volumes that pass through our port. Oil products continue to be an important cargo flow for us at this time.”
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