Transshipment also fell in the port of Amsterdam during the first six months of 2020. The volume declined from 45.2 million tonnes in the first half of 2019 to 39.8 million tonnes this year (-12%). This drop was also clearly a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The corona crisis has literally stopped many cruise ships. Fortunately, the business is slowly recovering, but the situation is still changing on a daily basis. That is why it is important for shipping companies to be able to easily check at any time which ports are open and what measures, if any, apply there. It is important for ports to be able to update changes in COVID measures quickly. The Port SEE app meets this need and is a new platform for the river cruise sector in Europe.

MyPort: online platform for services and tools

Eef will be coming online this month. At the moment she only speaks Dutch. ‘We hope that this chatbot will make it far easier for inland navigation boatmasters to obtain information.’

The lock gate chamber is where the operational lock gate will roll in and out. In the near future, the spare gate will be located next to the operational gate in this same gate chamber. Early in 2019, one of the three lock gates was already brought inside the future chamber of the new sea lock. The other two gates (now at OpenIJ in Amsterdam) will be positioned into the lock in 2021. Maarten Verdonk of OpenIJ works as Site Manager for the inner and outer lock heads and the lock chamber.

They received the award for a joint project aimed at the application of OECD guidelines for seaports. These government guidelines concern corporate social responsibility in international business. The seaports examined how they could contribute to making occasionally risky cargo flows more sustainable.

Arjan's special responsibility within the new sea lock project is dredging and the moving or removing of soil.

Port of Amsterdam's Harbour Master's Division is responsible for a safe, smooth and environmentally sound flow of shipping traffic in the whole of the North Sea Canal area. This area will soon also include the new sea lock. Cooperation between Port of Amsterdam, Rijkswaterstaat and OpenIJ is very important, above all during lock closures. Jordy explained how this works. 

Peter van Hoogstraten is project leader at OpenIJ for the eastern part of the lock in IJmuiden. According to Peter, compliance with the measures is going well. We asked him three questions about this.

The following activities are scheduled for the coming months: The connection of the lock sill to the lock gate chamber of the inner head (number 1 in the picture); dredging work in the new lock chamber (number 2 in the picture); and the construction of the eastern part of the flood barrier on the north side (number 3 in the picture). In addition, the activities on the walls of the inner lock head will continue throughout July and August.