Around end-November some 1,300 containers will be transhipped in the Amsterdam Ceres Paragon terminal by order of the Japanese shipper MOL (Mitsui OKS Lines).

MOL is part of the South China Express consortium. Iolite was Ceres’s first commercial client. The ship also belongs to South China Express. The consortium wants to examine whether Ceres can be used as alternative for Rotterdam’s ECT.

The Port Authority is counting on the fact that congestion in Rotterdam and Antwerp “offers some optimism for the arrival of a regular client.”

There is currently a judicial enquiry into container rates in Rotterdam. Lower rates are most likely in breach of European cartel legislation. The enquiry’s result is expected by early next year.