Fast Forward

Thirty years ago, the construction of the Delta/Sea-Land terminal at the Maasvlakte - the current DDN – constituted an unprecedented achievement. Two people who were directly involved from the very beginning reminisce about the realisation of the world’s very first automated container terminal. In his capacity as Director of Technology (and, from 1990, Director of the Delta Container Division), Joan Rijsenbrij was the program manager; Wando Boevé monitored the practical feasibility in terms of operations. “Many people had their doubts, but it proved to be a real success!”

Sustainability has been high on ECT’s agenda for many years already. Various initiatives contribute to further increasing the organisation’s sustainability. Among them is the monitoring of technological developments related to energy sources.

Service with a capital SEuropean Gateway Services (EGS) is marking its 10th anniversary. As a transport product of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam, it offers customers an extensive network for European hinterland transport. By means of frequent rail and barge services, Rotterdam and Antwerp are directly connected with destinations in the Benelux, Germany and Austria. Based on this solid foundation, EGS aims to further distinguish itself in the market in the coming years, mainly through its service provision.

Digitisation and data sharing are becoming more important for Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam by the day. The data that comes together at our deepsea terminals helps to improve both our own service provision and the logistics of customers, suppliers and partners. ECT therefore considers data to be an asset that holds concrete value, explain CEO Leo Ruijs and Product Manager Digital Services Bart van Riessen*. Sharing is self-evident, but only under well-defined conditions.

At the end of 2019, the Betuwe Express of European Gateway Services (EGS) already marked its 10th year of reliably and quickly connecting the deepsea terminals at the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam with the inland terminal Hutchison Ports Duisburg in Germany. Across 5000 trips, more than 400,000 containers (TEU) have now been transported by train. Good for a reduction in CO2 of more than 37,500 tonnes compared to transport by road.

Scaling up on the seaside requires high frequency on the landsideFrom the European Distribution Centre (EDC) in Beringe near Venlo in the south-east of the Netherlands, the Japanese company Kyocera Document Solutions supplies printers and accessories to the whole of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The overseas supply of all these goods mostly runs through Rotterdam.

Directly following upon the deepsea transport, European Gateway Services (EGS) offers a great number of sustainable transport services from and to the leading economic centres in Western and Central Europe. General Manager Paul Zoeter explains the advantages of explicitly opting for EGS for container transport.

Since early 2019, it has been possible for barges at ECT to officially make use of fixed windows. In this new concept, qualifying barge operators are unloaded and loaded at fixed times at both Hutchison Ports ECT Delta and Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax. Several barge operators are currently already enjoying the benefits of this new service aimed at increasing the reliability and consistency of the inland shipping product.

From the very beginning of container handling in 1968 to today's global container industry: the 23rd of October 2018 marks Hapag-Lloyd’s 50th anniversary as a customer of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam.

From now on, Hutchison Ports ECT Delta drives containers selected for a customs inspection through a hypermodern container scan located at its own terminal site. The customs facility, which was commissioned in the first half of 2018, combines the latest dual view technologies with the possibility of submitting ten TEU for inspection in one go. That makes this container scan unique in the world. And most importantly: it considerably improves logistics.

With a capacity of 21,413 TEU, the six G-class vessels of OOCL are currently the largest in the world. In Rotterdam, the ships are unloaded and loaded at the Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax terminal. In close consultation with the shipping line, handling is a streamlined process here. The preparations for each call already start weeks before arrival.

Never in Front of a Closed GateFor most of the road hauliers calling at the deepsea terminals of Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam, the digital handling of customs formalities is a matter of course. “But drivers carrying paper documents will also always remain welcome here,” says Jan Molenaar, Operations Manager of the Gate & Administration Desk. “Customer-centricity always comes first for us.'We have implemented all electronic options offered by Customs in our systems.'

Leo Ruijs (CEO ECT) on new employees, tailor-made solutions and reducing peaks‘We are building our future’ECT is currently in the process of recruiting one hundred new operational colleagues. CEO Leo Ruijs explains how this fits in with the company’s outlined strategy to continuously improve its performance. “We are building our future. This also includes increased cooperation in the logistics chain. Only then can the current peaks at our terminals truly be reduced.”

The arrival of the first container ship in 1966 marked the start of a completely new way of working in the port of Rotterdam; a true game changer. As the pioneering container terminal operator, ECT had a lot to discover, also in terms of social policy. On the 1st of January 1971, ECT entered into its first own Collective Labour Agreement (CAO in Dutch), replacing the previously applicable Collective Labour Agreement for the port.