FT: Europeʼs largest port is preparing for a possible conflict with Russia

Europeʼs largest port — Rotterdam — is reserving space for ships carrying military cargo and planning routes for redirecting goods in the event of war — this is how they are preparing for a possible conflict with Russia.

The Financial Times writes about this.

The director general of the Port of Rotterdam Authority Bodewejn Simons said the port was coordinating with the neighboring port of Antwerp — the second largest in the EU — to be ready to receive British, American and Canadian equipment and other supplies.

“Not every terminal is suitable for handling military cargo. If we have to transport large volumes of military equipment, we would involve Antwerp or other ports to partially unload Rotterdam — and vice versa,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

According to Simons, one or more ships will dock at the pier for several weeks — four or five times a year, although the exact location can change. The Rotterdam container terminal is the only place where the port can safely transfer ammunition from one ship to another.

The FT notes that back in May, the Dutch Ministry of Defense declared that, at NATOʼs request, the port of Rotterdam should provide space to service several ships with military cargo.

This port had previously handled military cargo, including during the Gulf War after 2003. But even at the height of the Cold War, there was no dedicated military berth here.

The Port of Rotterdam is located along the Maas River in the Netherlands and stretches for 42 kilometers. It handles approximately 436 million tons of cargo each year and receives 28 000 seagoing vessels, as well as 91 000 vessels arriving by river from Germany and other inland regions of Europe.

Meanwhile, Antwerp handles 240 million tons of cargo each year, making it the second-largest port in the EU. The port regularly receives supplies for the US military stationed in Europe.

“Our teams are working increasingly closely on a number of topics, including sustainability,” says Simons, adding that they are collaborating to strengthen “Europe’s self-reliance”.

The sudden reduction in Russian oil supplies after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the port of Rotterdam lost about 8% of its trade — was also a lesson, Simons said. He called on European countries to create strategic reserves of essential resources — just as they do with oil.

“We need to do the same with copper, lithium, graphite and other critical materials. We have oil reserves, but we don’t yet have the same gas reserves. Yes, there are gas fields in Europe that can partially meet the needs, but we need to broaden the spectrum of strategic resilience — and [also] in the pharmaceutical sector, and in where exactly to create such reserves,” Simons stressed.

He added that areas around ports with developed logistics are well suited to accommodate such reserves. The Netherlands already stores part of its strategic oil reserves in Rotterdam.

• The Rotterdam measures are part of a wider wave of preparations for war across the continent, with the EU drawing up a rearmament plan worth up to €800 billion as it seeks to become more self-reliant in defence matters.
• Meanwhile, NATO members, including the Netherlands, have agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. This means 3.5% of GDP for core defense spending by 2032 and an additional 1.5% for related spending, including cybersecurity and defense-related infrastructure. This was enshrined in the Hague Declaration during the NATO summit on June 25.

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