General Description
Location: Vlaardingen is situated on the N bank of the Nieuw Waterway, 1.5nm E of then junction with Oude Maas and 9km from Rotterdam.
General overview: Vlaardingen is a multipurpose port handling dry and liquid bulk, Ro-Ro and general cargo. Most of the outer port of Vlaardingen is privately owned. The nautical management of the port area is under the Harbour Master, Port of Rotterdam.
The port has 3 harbours capable of accommodating general cargo vessels, bulk vessels and tankers. The old harbour consists of an outer and inner basin connected by a lock, crossed by a road and rail bridge. The outer basin runs N for 425m and is between 30m and 40m wide. Koningin Wilhelminahaven basin lies 0.25nm ENE of the old harbour.
he privately-owned Vulcaanhaven is the largest harbor in the Port of Vlaardingen, covering a water surface of 165 thousand square meters. The harbor can accommodate vessels to 65 thousand DWT with almost 12 meters draft.
The Vulcaanhaven contains the Rotterdam Bulk Terminal handling dry bulk cargoes. Located in the eastern area of the harbor, the Rotterdam Bulk Terminal handles ores, coal, phosphates, ferro-alloys, kaoline, and pig iron. Cargo is moved directly from the ocean-going vessel to river barges to be delivered to consignees or stored ashore. Two conveyor belts serve the terminal with a capacity for handling 25 thousand tons of cry bulk cargo per day.
A.P. Moller Maersk Group operates the Norfolkline in the western area of the Port of Vlaardingen. A new ferry terminal can accommodate roll-on/roll-off vessels up to 200 meters long. The ferry terminal contains a total of 550 meters of quays. The Norfolkline offers daily ferry services between the Port of Vlaardingen and the Humber Sea Terminal in Killingholme, England, and a daily service to the Port of Felixstowe in England.
The Port of Vlaardingen’s VOPAK Tank Terminal is privately owned and has three riverside berths that receive sea-going tankers and several berths for barges and coastal vessels. The terminal facilities contain 365 storage tanks that with total capacity to store 435 thousand cubic meters of edible oils, fats, molasses, and other liquid cargoes.
The Koninging Wilhelminahaven is the last facility in the inner port still being used by industry today inside the city limits of the Port of Vlaardingen. Owned by the municipality and located in the eastern area of the Port of Vlaardingen, the facility serves sea-going vessels up to 120 meters long with as much as 6.1 meters draft. Cargo is loaded or discharged directly to river barges. Dangerous cargoes are prohibited at Koninging Wilheminahaven. The Port of Vlaardingen’s western area is used only for inland barges or for cargoes awaiting transshipment between barges.
Located between the Koninging Wilhelminahaven and the Buitenhaven, the Lensveld Wharf is privately operated for handling general cargoes.
The Buitenhaven, or old harbor, is operated by the municipality. Originally the Port of Vlaardingen’s fishing harbor, it is now used for tugs and river craft. Several privately-owned landing stages are located west of this harbor.
The Hydro Agrihaven harbor, also privately owned and operated, houses the Hydro Agri Fertilizer plant. This Port of Vlaardingen harbor can accommodate vessels of up to 2.5 thousand DWT and 5.5 meters draft. Vessels unloading bulk acids use the jetty on the riverside where the maximum draft is 7.6 meters.
Load line zone: North Atlantic Winter Seasonal Zone II, Winter Nov 1 to Mar 31, Summer Apr 1 to Oct 31.
Max size: LOA 260m, draught 11.9m, 85,000DWT.
- Ro-Ro: Depth 9.8 m.
- Bulk: Draft 12.0 m.
- Tankers: Draft 14.0 m.
The largest vessel called at the port: LOA: 255 m, draught: 12 m, deadweight: 51,486 t.