Liquid bulk throughput increases at Port of Rotterdam

The total volume of liquid bulk handled in the Port of Rotterdam rose by 10.6% to 107.5 million tonnes in the first half of 2012.

Crude oil incoming trade was close to reaching record levels for the first six months of 2012 after it reached 50.6 million tonnes, a 9.6% increase. The handling of mineral oil was also up – by 13.8% - to 39.9 million tonnes, while fuel oil throughput was stimulated by imports from Russia and exports to Singapore.

Other liquid bulk, including basic chemical products and vegetable oils and fats, reached 16.8 million tonnes in the first half of 2012, a 5.6% growth. The Port of Rotterdam attributes this to the rising throughput figures for palm oil, as a result of such factors as the opening of the plant of Neste Oil. There was also an increase in imports of MTBE and biodiesel, mainly from Asia. However, ethanol imports fell.

The port says that no maintenance shutdowns have taken place in the last six months, unlike the same period in 2011 when there were two major shutdowns. Additionally, production capacity elsewhere in Europe fell due to the (temporary) closure of refineries, causing a partial shift of demand for refining capacity to Rotterdam.

The increase in throughput was facilitated by an increase in the tank capacity at ETT, STR and BTT.