BTB - Update congestion ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp

23 January 2018

Dear Madam, dear Sir, Concerning the congestion in the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp we periodically keep you up to date.

We still can’t make the normal rotations of our barges from Born to Antwerp/Rotterdam v.v. 

In Antwerp we experience delays varying from 24-36 hours.

In Rotterdam the situation is different:
At the ECT terminals the delays are out of proportions: DDE+DDN 6 days, EMX 3 days.
The other terminals are delaying our barges between 24 and 36 hours.

It is still necessary to charter extra (expensive) capacity to transport the amount of containers. For the export we try to load as soon as possible, creating a longer period to deliver the containers to the port.

For the import we monitor the incoming motorvessels and try to pick up the containers as quickly as possible after discharging. We are also bundling volumes  and try to keep the number of calls to a minimum and maximize the callsize.

We are therefore forced to continue the congestion surcharge of €15,- per full container on our barge services.

In connection with this we kindly ask your understanding for the fact that we are not liable for any costs such as demurrage, detention or extra handling and transfer costs resulting from the delays. We will keep you informed about the situation and rely on your understanding.

If you have any questions, please contact us and we will try to explain in more detail.    

Barge Terminal Born
Norman Verstoep
Managing Director