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Random Port Impressions 3

2009-06-28T11:24:26Z

During the last month I once again visited many locations in the Port of Rotterdam. As always it is beautiful in all it's ugly-ness.

This month saw a slight recovery in the vessels coming into port and the goods transported, however compared to the "golden years" it is nothing. To see vessels coming into port half-full, to see quays and jetty's empty, to see dockworkers painting equipment out of boredom.. All of this whilst the construction of new land for the Maasvlakte 2 with it's grand terminals is underway. Somebody must have had a "Ow, damn" moment...
Let's hope on a quick recovery! In the mean time I prepared another gallery for you, click the image below to view.

Behind the gates..

2009-06-08T21:20:32Z

Nowadays with the millions of possible terrorists walking around, the security in the Port of Rotterdam is very high. It is more or less impossible to take pictures behind the gates. I hope you will enjoy these unique shots taken at a variety of terminals; RST, Vopak Botlek, ExxonMobil, Odfjell, RHB and Argos/BP.

Update: Extra pictures have been added in this gallery. Also I have created a new page listing some of my other projects and involvements. Click the page on the right side of my website.

The school run!

2009-05-03T19:47:22Z

Since recently the former RDM is opened for use as a school, mine as well! For the students the school run has become a little longer but very much nicer! Enjoy the shots of the spectacular part on board the Aqualiner and back on the very fast Watertaxi. As a port enthousiast I love all this stuff !

As always, please click the image below to enter the gallery!

Still not the final chapter ?!?

2009-04-09T18:26:32Z

The problems with the SHB peak pool are still continuing. By now the official name is Rotterdam Port Services, but besides the name nothing much has happened. Most of the former workers have not had a single day of work yet, nor did they receive the money they were promised by the union. To clear up certain matters a group of about 40 to 50 men went to the office of the FNV (union). Below you will find a photo report of the happenings. Unfortunately the union was not able to clear up on all subjects and some questions still remain.

Port of Rotterdam in winter times!

2009-04-04T11:58:07Z

After a very long pause, at last I was able to put together a new gallery! It consists of a large number of pictures taken last three months, throughout the Port of Rotterdam! I will promise to keep it more updated :)

Enjoy the gallery by clicking the following image:

The final chapter: SHB

2009-02-19T09:13:02Z

The SHB pool has stopped to exist. After all the hard struggle by many,many people it has ceased to exist. But as always, luctor et emergo, struggle and come up again. The work for many people has been saved and it will keep going strong(?) as Rotterdam Port Services. Unfortunately about 100 people need to go.. I wish them all the best with finding a job. I hope they will find the courage to not give up and get another job, instead of crashing into depression, alcoholism or else. Keep faith up!

A day on board: Kotug International B.V.

2009-02-01T15:41:46Z

Recently I had an interesting oppurtunity, to join along for one day onboard the tugboats of Kotug. Kotug is one of the biggest tugging companies in the Port of Rotterdam and in other ports. In the last decade, Kotug established a trusted reputation by successfully breaking harbour towage monopolies in Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Le Havre.

In addition to the present fleet of tugboats, Kotug also owns and operates a serie of the innovative Rotortugs. These in-house designed tugs are amongst the most powerful and manoevrable harbour tugs in the world. The unmatched manoeuvrability and massive power reserve enables the Rotortug to reduce the number of tugs required for many jobs considerably,

I boarded three different vessels on this day: RT Margo, SD Seahorse and RT Magic. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed this day!

A big thanks to Kotug !

Please click the image above to continue to the 80-shot (!) gallery.

A new year, a new beginning..

2009-01-06T22:23:44Z

Best wishes in 2009! The new year has started and I am hard at work to give this site a refreshment. It will be faster, better looking, easier to use and hopefully with nicer pictures! In a few months time, I hope to show you the new look! Also on the way are various nice reports; a day onboard with a tug boat(Kotug) and a tour of a chemical tanker(Jo Tankers) is planned for the next months.

Whilst i'm working on those, please enjoy the photo-reports I took earlier on my endeavours through the Port of Rotterdam! Below is an extra large photoshoot of the port in the cold winter months. Notice how the financial crisis and the holidays almost crippled the port for a few days. The effects are very clear, but let's hope they remain limited.

Sjoerd

SHB Part 2

2008-12-16T21:49:23Z

The issues for the SHB pool have still not been resolved, so the men (and some women) went to protest again! This time more drastic action was taken. After a relatively swift session of speeches, about 50 men went to the gate of the ECT Home Terminal. Why ?

One of the SHB men held a speech in the cafetaria of the ECT in the morning. Apparently the company directors didnt really like that and disciplinary measures were going to be taken against him. This infuriated the dock workers and the gate was blocked as a result.

The shots i took in the second part of my shoot are exclusive to me. No other journalist or photographer was present. I was surprised to find that the redaction of the Algemeen Dagblad had not even heard of it at all, when I was talking to them at their redaction office!

As usual, click the above image to continue to a extensive gallery!

Power to the dockers !

2008-12-11T21:39:22Z

Because of various reasons the SHB (a pool for portworkers) has gotten into heavy waters. It is almost bankrupt and to save the company again (!) a proposition by the board of directors has been to cut wages for some, to fire some and to make changes in the disadvantage of the port workers. Offcourse it's in the nature of these tough guys to stand up against injustice, so the protest in the following shoot followed. Enjoy !

Small and big

2008-12-06T19:39:26Z

The third wallpaper on my website is now available to eveyrbody. This picture was taken right in front of the famous Botlek Stores. This view is probably one of the most pictured places in the Port of Rotterdam, with dozens of enthousiastic seafarers taking a shot of eachother in front of the shop !

Click the links below the picture to download them in the desired size.

800 x 600 pixels
1024 x 768 pixels
1280 x 800 pixels (breedbeeld)
1280 x 960 pixels

Impounded..

2008-11-17T19:17:28Z

After all the intense action of yesterday, it is surprisingly calm again. The Rainbow Warrior and the Beluga have both been impounded by the police forces and their crews taking into custody ! After five hours of blocking the port the police invaded the vessels and took the crews into custody. The ships have then been guided to a holding berth to wait until further action is undertaken. Offcourse I could not resist the temptation to take some more pictures; click the image to continue to the gallery.

Eco-terrorists or the saviours of the future ?

2008-11-15T21:44:47Z

Greenpeace, a world famous environmental organization went to have a action in the Port of Rotterdam against the E.On company. This company plans on building a new coal powerplant right next to the one they currently posess. On Saturday a huge camping site was put up for their members, to protest there for a prolonged period. The police however ended the action arresting hundreds. In the night, i took this first picture. Unfortunately security was very tight and a near-arrest followed.

The next day, Sunday, the environmentalists came back to clean up the site. However in a very unexpected move, the vessels Beluga and Rainbow Warrior II came into port again. The police tried to stop them, but did not succeed. Right at the moment that I am typing this, they are blocking the Missisippihaven with one of the largest coal terminals in the world.

Click the above picture to continue to the gallery with the pictures of this day. Will further developments follow ? I am always willing to be amazed and will surely be there again the next morning. More will definately follow.

Multimodal transport

2008-10-18T15:57:44Z

When a container enters the port of rotterdam it never stays here for long. Within the least possible time they are out of the gate of the container terminal. Many different ways of transporting are possible. In this photoshoot I focused on the main ways: rhine barges, trains and road transport. Enjoy !

Click the image to continue to the gallery

Old Glory never fades, or does it..

2008-09-08T20:44:00Z

For many many years the RDM(Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij) was one of the biggest shipyards in Rotterdam. Through the years they did many interesting projects, like the building of the SS Rotterdam. But they even went through the construction of submarines for the Royal Dutch Navy.

Today not much remains of the former glory. During a very difficult period in ship construction, the RDM yard was merged with Verolme, Wilton-Feyenoord and Schelde yards. This very large company went bankrupt in 1983, after which the RDM was again on it's own legs. From then on, it went fine for a few years, until sold in 1991 to the illustrious business man Joep Van Den Nieuwenhuyzen. It was soon over after that, in 1996 the last activities were on this terrain.

That was until the city of Rotterdam wanted to use these halls again. The RDM Campus is a highly ambitious project to create a lively student community here. Amongst many others, my school is busy creating new workshops and classrooms here. The old glory will be kept as much as possible, by building around the old and worn structure and building a greenhouse inside the halls.

Below you find a very large gallery, created during many days of photography on this terrain. It's unique atmosphere really creates unique angles and a lasting impression. Enjoy !

Click the image to continue to the gallery.