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"Safety first" is a motto the port of Rotterdam lives by. Business can only thrive in a safe port. This makes
safety one of the Port Authority's prime responsibilities. Harbourmaster Jaap Lems, who will retire in
March 2010 after twenty years of distinguished service in this capacity, has always considered safety paramount.
The port experienced spectacular growth deep into 2008, but while more than 93,000 seaborne vessels
moved in and out of port that year (plus a multitude of other vessels, including the literally hundreds of
thousands of movements by inland ships), the number of incidents decreased year after year. An
objective observer might consider it nothing short of a miracle that incidents were so rare, considering the
amount of activity going on within a confined area that has never been expanded since the 1970s.
An incident in 2007 drew a great deal of publicity: a container ship became unmoored in a heavy storm
and rammed a cargo jetty belonging to the Maasvlakte Oil Terminal. Other incidents were limited to the maritime
equivalent of fender-benders, reminding us that to err is human, and so are skippers. "Parking damage,
ships putting the squeeze on each other," is how Jaap Lems sums it up, citing "intensive use of the harbour" as a cause.
The Port Authority deploys additional capacity to inspect inland ships, since these vessels are found to
be lacking most often in the paperwork department. Better communication is a must, according to the
harbourmaster, who would like to see English introduced as the language of choice for inland
shipping as well, even if it means using only certain pre-determined phrases, as long as no doubt is left
about a ship's cargo.
The Port Authority also maintains a water-borne presence to ensure swift and safe passage through its waterways.
Piet Sinke/Port of Rotterdam Authority
Ships carrying dangerous payloads are inspected differently now than in the past. "More
inspections of high-risk vessels." This led to more findings. "Inspections focus on where things go wrong."
An incident with an explosion aboard a chemical tanker in 2007 prompted the Port Authority to start
working on a project intended to improve the availability of information about cargo and how it was
to be handled. It is better for everyone if the measures needed to combat fire, heating,
spontaneous combustion other calamities are available within sixty minutes.
Harbourmaster Jaap Lems wants to increase the number of mooring locations near the offshore entry
lanes to Rotterdam's Rhine estuary. The traffic around these 'parking spots' about 15 kilometres off
the coast is steadily increasing, which means new regulations are needed.
Rotterdam leads the way in safety. It should come as no surprise that new international maritime
law contains regulations named after the Dutch port: the Rotterdam Rules. In September 2009,
sixteen countries became signatories to the Rotterdam Rules.
Almost all major exporting nations, including the US and China, participated in the establishment of the
Rotterdam Rules, and their ratification by twenty countries within "six or so years" is a real possibility.
The US plays a crucial role in this process. The country has been a driving force behind the
Rotterdam Rules from the start, and expectations are that it might be the first to ratify them.
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