APM Terminals Maasvlakte II has begun landside operations in Rotterdam, capable of operating 24 hours a day.
The move brings new inland transportation capacity online in the form of 500m of dedicated, 10m-deep barge quay area, equipped with two dedicated quay cranes, in operation 24/7.
Transportation infrastructure also includes a dedicated on-dock railyard, designed to increase the volume of cargo carried inland by rail from the 15% handled currently across the whole port. Rail services from the port are set to increase from three to 10 in 2015.
The first main line vessel is due to arrive at Maasvlakte II in December, with a regular service beginning in February 2015. The terminal will be able to handle up to 2.7m teu with its 1,000 m of deepwater quay and eight super-post panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes.
“With this new, advanced terminal design and operating concept, we believe the landside operation is as important to the terminal’s operations as the seaside; efficient, seamless movement across all modalities is a critical success factor for our customers”, said APM Terminals Maasvlakte II md Frank Tazelaar.
The new transportation infrastructure will be a boon for congestion-hit Rotterdam, which earlier in the year unveiled measures to free up quay wall at its biggest container terminals.
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