Port of Amsterdam promotes inland-waterway transport

On the initiative of the Port of Amsterdam, Euro Shipping Cargo (formerly AIT) and BCA are now providing an inland-waterway service on Lake IJssel (IJsselmeer), which is the largest lake in Western Europe. Twice a week, barges will visit the ports of Harderwijk, Kampen, Utrecht and Amsterdam. As part of its sustainability policy, the Port of Amsterdam is keen to promote green forms of transport. The objective is to expand the service to include more lakeside ports in the future.

What prompted the creation of the green barge service was the closure of the Holland Bridge (Hollandse Brug) near the town of Almere, which forced trucks to make a 60-kilometer detour.

The Tour of Lake IJssel (Rondje IJsselmeer), as the new service is called, further increases the accessibility of the Port of Amsterdam and the other lakeside ports. It is also part of a move toward more waterborne transport, which eases road congestion and reduces CO2 emissions.

The new inland-waterway service has a capacity of 48 TEUs and offers additional advantages such as transport reliability, speed, flexibility and lower transport costs.

Especially the congestion on Dutch roads and the ever rising fuel prices can help turn this initiative into a great success.

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