Page 31: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 2022)

The Port of Rotterdam has blazed a path for ports globally in terms of automation, digitalization and decarbonization. As he enters the ? nal year of his tenure, Allard Castelein,

CEO, Port of Rotterdam, says there is still much work to do.

By Greg Trauthwein hile many global organizations are adept at ‘talk- particularly energy – to and from Russia, in mid-July the port ing the talk’, the Port of Rotterdam stands out as reported that ? rst half ’22 total cargo throughput of 233.5 mil- ‘walking the walk’ in regards to real investment lion tons was slightly higher (0.8%) than the ? rst half of 2021,

Wand innovation in robotics, digitalization and in- with sharp increases in LNG and coal cargos to reduce the frastructure improvements to facilitate the ef? cient, effective impact of Russia cutting gas supplies to Europe via pipeline. transfer of ship’s cargo for distribution globally. Sitting at the In addition, the throughput of crude oil increased, with oil helm to ensure a smooth ? ow of commerce is CEO Allard products falling off. Throughput of iron ore, agricultural bulk

Castelein, who has held the top spot at Europe’s largest port and containers was lower than in the same period last year.

since 2014. Today Castelein, who enters the ? nal year of his “Europe relies heavily on Russian energy, and the current geo- tenure, and his team are facing down a number of unique chal- political situation makes Europe very vulnerable,” said Castelein lenges, including the Russian war in Ukraine and the resultant in announcing the 2022 ? rst half results. “A positive develop- sanctions that have halted the ? ow of Russian commerce to ment is that concrete steps have been taken in recent months the west, and plunged all of Europe into an era of uncertainty to make our energy supply more sustainable and to further our regarding energy and economic security. energy independence, particularly through investment decisions to build a large biore? nery and Europe’s largest green-hydrogen

The Port of Rotterdam: By the Numbers plant. The business community has made a commitment in the “The Port of Rotterdam is by far the largest port in Europe, last half year to invest €3 billion in the energy transition.” and one of the leading ports in the world,” said Castelein, The Port Authority had a good ? rst half of the year ? nan- moving approximately 470 million tons per annum [468.7 cially, with revenue increasing by 6.3% (€ 24.6 million) to € million tons in 2021], creating approximately 565,000 jobs 412.2 million and operating expenses decreasing by 2.4% (€ by businesses associated to the port, plus “8.2% of the gross 3.1 million), mainly due to lower expenditure on sand extrac- national product of 63 billion euros through the trade volumes tion. Gross investments in the ? rst half of 2022 amounted to that we generate and facilitate.” € 117.1 million, including capital injections in participating

Despite the port’s historical reliance on moving cargos – interests (versus ? rst half of 2021: € 100.5 million). www.marinelink.com 31

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