Hutchison Rotterdam Delta Terminal congested, APMT picks up scraps


HONG KONG's Hutchison Delta Terminal in Rotterdam has suffered congestion and cargo flow disruptions expected to persist for weeks. 


Congestion has been attributed to "late arrivals of deep sea vessels, system outages and shortages of labour," said nearsea operator OPDR in a notice to trade warning of delays of 48 hours. 

The Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) unit said the situation "will last for at least another month. 

HPH's Europe Container Terminal (ECT), which runs Delta, said delays were due to upgrades at the terminal and further disrupted by sailing schedules of some shipping lines. 

"New cranes are being made ready for use; we have less available capacity on the south side. From the end of June, the cranes will be operational and the quay will be available," said ECT spokesman Rob Bagchus. 

Also, he said, "deep-sea ships have been 'out of window' for some time now", with one factor being storms in south-east Asia. 

"We are able to accommodate fluctuations to some extent, but the current situation is exceptional," said Mr Bagchus. 

But APM Terminals suffered no delays. "Operations are running normally. We have been approached by others to handle their business. Four additional calls were added and we have capacity for more," said APMT.

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