This summer, Hutchison Ports ECT Rotterdam (ECT) received the 10,000th barge that was handled within the so-called 'Fixed Windows' concept. This success underlines the considerable value of this barge product for a reliable and efficient inland shipping chain.
In 2018, ECT introduced the concept of 'Fixed Windows' for inland shipping. With the help of a fixed window, a barge is handled every week on the same day, at the same time and with a fixed call size. Previously, this was often not the case due to, among other things, the dynamics of departure and arrival times of the deepsea vessels, changes in sailing schedules of barges and therefore constantly changing schedules of the deepsea terminals. This concept was therefore groundbreaking in 2018 for the handling of barges in seaports.
With the introduction of 'Fixed Windows', ECT reserves space and guarantees that participating barges will be handled at the agreed time and with certainty about the departure time. Barge operators pay a fixed tariff per visit for this reservation and guarantee and ensure that they arrive on time with the agreed quantity of containers.
The introduction of fixed windows and the later launch of ECT's Barge Transferium Maasvlakte (BTM) have contributed significantly to a reliable barge product. This is also reflected in the figures. The number of fixed windows has grown rapidly at both the ECT Delta and the ECT Euromax terminal. At the moment dozens of fixed windows are handled per week. In combination with BTM, whereby a group of barge operators jointly purchase a quay crane from ECT, more than half of the inland shipping volumes are handled at ECT with a reliability of more than 95%. This gives inland shipping a strong trump card for its customers in the hinterland and port.