Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals is Europe’s largest dedicated short sea terminal. It was established in 1997 and celebrated its 25th birthday at the end of 2022. RST has experienced significant growth since it was founded, especially following its takeover in 2021. According to CEO Arno Storm, the acquisition has given new energy to the development of RST. He explained more to Hannah Barnett.
Since its takeover by shareholders Blue Ocean Capital and Crestline Investors, Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals is going through what CEO Arno Storm called ‘a professionalisation of all functions and capabilities.’ This has meant an upgrade in facilities, people and even the way its employees work.
“A whole investment pipeline was put in place,” Mr Storm said. “We are currently introducing a lean way of working, with all employees following lean training. And what we have seen is that the entrepreneurial spirit has grown significantly.”
‘Lean’ working is a philosophy of work which emphasises the eradication of as
ROTTERDAM SHORT SEA TERMINALS I PROFILE
many inefficient activities as possible, with the principle that it is wasteful to expend resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer.
Accordingly, RST is now the sort of port which focuses on its efficiency.
Investing in facilities
With 64 hectares of terrain, 2,800 metres of quay space, 640 reefer connections, 14 ship-to-shore cranes, 12 straddle carriers, five reach stackers, six empty container handlers and 15 terminal tractors, Rotterdam Short Sea Terminals is well equipped for purpose.
And it needs to be, to transfer 800,000 containers per year and for the range of services on offer. As Mr Storm said: “We handle seagoing vessels, barges with inland connections, trucks and rail. We also provide storage depots, repairs and reefer services.”
Further investment in the port facilities is an ongoing project.
“In 2021, we invested heavily in reach stackers and acquired five new ones,” Mr Storm said. “We refurbished the pavement of the terminal, which is not very glamorous, but quite costly. That was a million or so. Upgrading the terminal
infrastructure and upgrading the gantry rails of several cranes, was also hugely costly.
“Currently we are working on a complete renovation of our technical building. And we fleet, which means that the first batch of six carriers will be ordered in 2023. And we are looking at replacing several older cranes.”
Investing in efficiency
As a short sea terminal, it is crucial to be highly efficient. “We have the fastest ship-to-shore cranes available in the market,” Mr Storm said. “We have a unique operational setup in which the import stacks and
the export stacks are divided separately, and the cranes can swiftly interchange containers between the different stacks.”
This sort of functionality is reflective of the requirements of a short sea port.
“It means we are very flexible and efficient,” explained Mr Storm. “Our terminal operating software, where we manage all the container flow coming in and going out, is specially designed. This means our customers can bring in a container at the last minute, just before departure of the vessel, which is quite different to what you see in long-haul terminals.”
The terminal has invested in the efficiency of its connections, too. “There was a need to update the interchange between us and the rail terminal, adjacent to ours,” continued Mr Storm. “So, we set up a lean improvement project. We increased shunting time between the two sites, up
ROTTERDAM SHORT SEA TERMINALS I PROFILE
to a standard of more than 99% on-time shunting, within 24 hours. That is a stable product right now. The next step is to reduce the 24 hours to a faster standard, as quick as possible.”
Investing in industry
Since its takeover, the terminal has been able to use the movements of the market to its advantage and make the best of turbulent periods.
“We anticipated the huge issues with the global logistical supply chain in 2022 and created an ‘extended gate’ product at our old dockyard facility,” Mr Storm said. “We were able to serve several customers with long-term storage for containers, which were not being taken out due to the congestion in the supply chain in the hinterland.
“This whole entrepreneurial mindset, which was not there in the past, has grown into the company. Now we're always looking for opportunities across the industry. And
in the spot market, where we've been quite successful too.”
Mr Storm also emphasised the significance of working closely with suppliers in order for RST to operate smoothly.
“'We’ve got an array of companies who support us,” he said. “For our rolling equipment, we have lease contracts in place. We've got several contracts with companies who do maintenance and repair to our cranes. Our software suppliers are important, because the terminal container business is all about data exchange nowadays, and they need to be swift and reliable. We work in a synergetic way with our main software supplier who provides the terminal operating system; their staff and our staff are co-located at our terminal.”
Investing in the future
One of the strongest examples of quantifiable progress at RST is the automation of the gate facility, which serves 800 to 1,200 trucks a day and previously had a turnaround
time of 90 minutes, on average. Mr Storm said that this has been shaved down to 50, thanks to automation.
“That’s 35 to 40 minutes of increased efficiency,” he continued, “which is good for our customers, because waiting time needs to be paid for, there's nothing free in this world. What we also see is that the flow of trucks is smoother. And the experience for the truck drivers, and our own staff, is better. The whole stream throughout the terminal has improved.”
RST runs the gate alongside several other companies located in the same basin, as part of the Rotterdam City Terminal complex.
“The gate setup is quite efficient,” Mr Storm explained. “It's a joint investment with the other companies and the port authorities of Rotterdam. There is an internal lane which connects us all. I think that is also one of the big advantages of RST, we have a very good relationship with
our neighbours. And we've got efficient software, so everything is connected through Portbase, the common port community system.”
As a company fully invested in progress, it is no surprise that the terminal is also investing in hydrogen solutions and facilities for electric vessels. It has already decreased its carbon footprint per-container by 20% this year. The CEO acknowledged that becoming more sustainable is not without its challenges, but, as he said, ‘that’s a good thing.’ That’s because these measures mean more to RST than ticking a box, or even making a shrewd investment.
“We believe in sustainability, not only for the purpose of doing business,” Mr Storm said. “We believe in our role in society. So, we look at it not only from a CO2 reduction point of view, but also as our duty to our employees, to the people of Rotterdam and the planet.”
