The Port of Rotterdam Authority identified a slight decrease in accidents in 2022: 137 accidents compared to 141 in 2021. Slightly more sea-going vessels arrived in 2021 (29,029 compared to 28,876 in 2021) and fewer inland vessels (97,459 compared to 98,469 in 2021).
Two accidents in the port of Rotterdam – one involving the water taxi and a fatal accident caused by the capsizing of an inland vessel – left their mark on last year’s nautical results.
These are the main results of the 2022 nautical annual figures presented by (State) Harbour Master René de Vries today, 26 January.
Due to a fatal accident in the port, we obviously cannot be satisfied with the results of the past year
said (State) Harbour Master René de Vries.
According to Mr. de Vries, “the number of 137 accidents seems a lot, but these involve mainly so-called parking damage. The water taxi accident does worry us.”
The Port is now awaiting the results and recommendations of the investigation by the Safety Board.
Camera network expansion
To achieve this, monitoring of the navigational behavior of recreational and passenger shipping has been intensified. Regular coordination takes place in identified dangerous situations.
The Port Authority’s Harbour Master’s Division has now extended traffic control on a trial basis to include camera supervisors.
In the coming period, the camera network in the port and industrial area serving Seaport Police, Customs and the Port Authority will be expanded from 220 to 280 cameras.
Recreational sailing
The Harbour Master expressed satisfaction with the gradual decline in recreational sailing accidents. From 14 in 2018 to 6 in 2022.
This concerns an extremely vulnerable group of waterway users. The risk of things going wrong remains high. Therefore, we inspect more, issue more tickets and provide a lot of information
Moreover, in 2022, the Harbour Master observed 36 pleasure boats with engine failure. “That is too many. People should prepare well to sail in Europe’s busiest and largest port. And that includes engine maintenance.”
The Harbour Master also addressed key developments in the coming year:
- A study will be conducted on extending the generator ban for idling inland vessels. Currently, there is already a generator ban in the city and the desire is to make the generator ban mandatory elsewhere in the port. This is because the 32 shore-based power cabinets with 116 connections now available in the areas where there is no generator ban are virtually unused.
- Starting in July, methanol will be bunkered regularly. Ahead of this, the preconditions for safe bunkering have now been agreed upon with the parties involved.
- In late 2022, the Port Authority announced that it would make it mandatory to use a bunker measuring system on board bunker vessels to measure the exact amount of fuel delivered to sea-going vessels. In 2023, the Harbour Master will decide which bunker measuring systems are suitable in the Port of Rotterdam and when they will be made mandatory.
- This month, the Port Authority set up an Airspace Centre at the World Port Center to gain knowledge on what it takes to keep the drones airspace safe, determine the impact of drone air traffic control on the organization and get an idea of the Port Authority’s future role in this respect.
