APM Terminals to double Maasvlakte II capacity within five years

1 July 2021 World Cargo News

Capacity at APM Terminals’ Rotterdam MVII automated terminal will be lifted from 2.7M TEU today to 5.4M TEU by 2026

The management of the automated terminal commissioned six years ago on Rotterdam Maasvlakte II has indicated that it plans to commence construction in 2023. Rotterdam port authority (HbR) has already commissioned the work for a total 2,400m of new quay wall for phase II of Maasvlakte II. Rotterdam World Gateway has not announced its phase II plans.

In its announcement today to HbR, work force and trade unions, APMT MVII stated that the current phase I facility is too small to be operated optimally. “Its efficiency lags behind that which can be expected from a fully automated terminal. In the six months ahead, we will establish a transformation plan to improve performance and efficiency in dialogue with our works council."

The announcement went on to note that the current workforce is above the originally anticipated number. Therefore, talks with the works council, and possibly trade unions, will also ‘openly feature’ the staffing consequences of the expansion. The statement added that part of the "future specialised new stacking modules will require other qualifications and skills, the transformation will include investing in retraining and extra training."