Maersk focuses on Rotterdam

A.P. Moller-Maersk in mid-May inaugurated a Cross Dock warehouse located on its Rotterdam Maasvlakte II terminal. The new facility aims to accelerate the cargo flow from arrival on a vessel to the point of sale – especially in the Benelux, German and French hinterland.

“Maersk wants to ‘remove a link from the chain’ with its own cross-dock in the port to accelerate the flow of goods by days”, says Ole Trumpfheller, director of the North Europe Continent Area at Maersk. It is a new step in the vertical integration of the shipping company in the logistics chain.

At the newly completed warehouse on Maasvlakte II, the docks are numbered from 201 to 267. The facility, covering an area of 23,000 square meters, has a total of 120 docks.

“We want your business,” says head of customer management Natasha Angelina.

Ole Trumpfheller confirmed that Maersk sees Rotterdam as the centre point of its operations. Rotterdam plays a crucial role in the future plans of the shipping company, as reflected in the decisions made within the Gemini alliance.

Starting February 2025, Maersk will join the new Gemini alliance along with Hapag-Lloyd. Together, these shipping companies will operate a fleet of 290 ships with a combined capacity of 3.4 million TEU, with Maersk contributing 60% of this capacity.

The alliance aims to improve the reliability of sailing schedules. Maersk plans to achieve this by reducing the number of ports included in the routes of their large container ships.

Consequently, Hamburg and Antwerp will be served only by feeder shuttles, while the APM Terminal at Maasvlakte II will play a central role in the network.

Trumpfheller says he finds predictability much more important than the transit time for containers. “Management shuttles go from Rotterdam to Antwerp, among others. They will not stop at other ports.”

A cross-dock located directly next to a deep sea container terminal should “significantly accelerate” the flow of goods, Trumpfheller believes. “The customer deals with one party and not with several smaller parties that all occupy parts of the chain.”

According to Trumpfheller, this makes the chain ‘more reliable and cheaper. Empty containers go to the enlarged Star depot, which saves on demurrage and detention costs. “We are starting this in Rotterdam, but see opportunities to expand the concept.”

Source: Nieuwsblad Transport