July 22 - The ports of Rotterdam and Dordrecht, a few kilometres to the rear of the Dutch gateway, have become one single port in terms of nautical management and commercial activity from the beginning of July.

The move is "a logical step in expanding the position of the port towards hinterland corridors", says the port of Rotterdam.

With a range of breakbulk activities and space to develop more, the port of Dordrecht, one of the oldest in the Netherlands, has a direct water connection to the North Sea. The main connection is via the River Maas (Hook of Holland).

Meanwhile, DFDS has sold its subsidiary DFDS Seaways Maasvlakte Terminal in the Port of Rotterdam to the Rhenus Group. The Rhenus Group took over operation of the terminal with immediate effect. The acquisition supplements Rhenus' existing terminal in the Waalhaven and provides more breakbulk capacity in the Port of Rotterdam.

The terminal on the Maasvlakte covers 20 ha, has a quay length of 500 m and a depth of 16.5 m. The takeover of the terminal by Rhenus means there are now three large deep sea breakbulk operators in Rotterdam.

With a turnover of EUR3 billion (USD4.3 billion), the Rhenus group is one of Europe's leading logistics service providers. Its business areas include port logistics and heavy lift material handling. It offers project cargo management and project handling, heavy lift stevedoring, route survey and technical support, hydraulic jacking operations and packing and crating for project and high and heavy shipments.

The September / October edition of HLPFI will include a supplement on ports and terminals with the capabilities to handle heavy and OOG cargoes. To participate in the editorial content, or to advertise your port's capabilities, contactian@heavyliftpfi.com