Ukraine conflict impacts container volumes at Rotterdam Port

In Q1 2022, container volumes at the Port of Rotterdam fell 1.4 percent to 3.6 million TEU. Despite the fact that there were more empty containers shipped from January to March 2022, the average container weight was lower. The port authorities attributed the drop in shipments to the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict. Most shipping companies have cancelled bookings for Russian container freight as a result of the war, and most deep-sea terminals are refusing to take any export cargo from the invading country. Russian vessels have recently been banned from ports across the UK, US, and EU. Transshipment volumes in Rotterdam have also dropped substantially by 21.5 per cent to 6.0 million tonnes, another driver behind the port’s lower container throughput. “Although we started the year exceptionally well, the world was hit by the war in Ukraine in late February,” said Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority. “Besides the fact that this conflict is a terrible humanitarian disaster, it led to serious uncertainty in world trade and changes in logistical parameters. “Although no one can predict how this will unfold, we expect that the developments in Ukraine and the seriously deteriorated relationship between Russia and many other countries will impact throughput volumes for the rest of the year as well.”