The Port of Rotterdam is trying to tackle congestion issues by taking steps to free up quay wall and labour capacity at its international ECT Delta and Euromax container terminals, by offloading work onto its inland terminals.

The move seeks to address congestion issues as some of the world’s largest intercontinental boxships arrive outside of scheduled times.

The plan involves the cascading of smaller inland vessels to Rotterdam Container Terminal (RCT), where berthing and unloading operations will take place, and from there containers will be carried overland to ECT Delta.

The move will also involve the bundling of containers at the inland Ports of Moerdijk (MCT) and Uniport Terminal, and subsequent shuttling of large container loads between these ports and the Maasvlakte terminal at the mouth of the Nieuwe Mass river, where the larger cranes can operate more efficiently.