Ship chandlers & ship supply at Rotterdam NLRTM

Throughput in 2025 was 428.4 million tonnes (−1.7%), including 14.2 million TEU of containers (+3.1%), 101.2 million tonnes of crude oil and 13.0 million tonnes of LNG. The Harbour Master counted 27,384 seagoing vessel calls and 93,680 inland vessel calls in the year.^[1,2]

—Maximum draught: 22.55 m. The Eurogeul, a 57 km dredged channel in the North Sea with a guaranteed depth of 25 m, is compulsory for vessels of 17.4 m draught or more.^[3,4]

—Rotterdam VTS covers 38 nm seaward and runs 24 hours; the Harbour Coordination Center is manned around the clock (VHF 11 traffic, VHF 14 operations). The port is never closed by ice.^[3]

—Ships over 300 GT notify the Harbour Master through Portbase 24 hours before ETA at the pilot boarding place (or on departure from the previous port if the voyage is shorter), and re-report when the ETA moves by more than 30 minutes. Vessels of 17.4 m draught or more and LNG carriers over 180 m give 48 hours.^[3,5]

—Customs, immigration, waste and security notifications are each due 24 hours before ETA at the pilot boarding place.^[5]

—Pilotage is compulsory under the Dutch Compulsory Pilotage Decree 2021, except for ships of 75 m LOA or less that do not carry dangerous cargo in bulk, and for masters or chief officers holding a Pilotage Exemption Certificate. The Harbour Master can impose a pilot ad hoc.^[6]

—Pilots are ordered at least 12 hours ahead inbound for deep-draught ships (17.4 m or more) and LNG carriers over 180 m, 3 hours for all other inbound ships, and 2 hours for departures and shifts; the service runs 24 hours.^[3]

The Port of Rotterdam puts bunker volumes at about 10 million tonnes of fuel a year and ranks itself among the top three bunkering ports worldwide; bunkering is done at terminals, buoys or poles, and every bunker operation must be reported and registered in advance via Portbase and reported to the Harbour Coordination Center before it starts.^[7,3]

—A bunker licence has been mandatory since 1 February 2021 for (owners of) bunker vessels supplying seagoing ships with residual fuels, distillates and biodiesel; bio-methanol and bio-ammonia are licensed separately. Sampling follows ISO 13739 and delivery records are kept for five years.^[9,8]

—Mass flow meters: from 1 January 2026 a bunker measurement system is mandatory for bunker vessels in Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges; barges without a commissioned meter have their licence suspended.^[10,11]

—Sales in 2025 (Port of Rotterdam data analysed by Ship & Bunker): 9.36 million tonnes of conventional and bio fuels, the lowest since 2020 — HSFO 3.4 Mt, VLSFO 2.9 Mt, MGO 1.3 Mt, bio-blends about 630,000 t — plus 992,911 m³ of LNG and 11,819 t of bio-methanol.^[12]

—The port says it was the first in Europe to enable LNG bunkering and the first in the world to facilitate barge-to-ship methanol bunkering.^[7]

—Waste notification: under Directive (EU) 2019/883 the advance waste notification goes through Portbase at least 24 hours before arrival (or as soon as the port of call is known); after delivery the ship receives a waste delivery receipt. Exemptions are granted by ILT, the Dutch inspectorate.^[13]

—Indirect fee: every vessel pays a waste contribution whether or not it delivers waste — for 2025, €210 plus €0.037 per GT, capped at €1,800. It covers Annex V garbage delivered at most twice per call, but not cargo residues, sewage or scrubber waste. Delivery is arranged through the ship’s agent; the standard rate applies 07:30–17:00 and work outside those hours is invoiced to the ship.^[14,13]

—In-port environmental rules: ballast water only if it meets D1 or D2, sewage only if treated to MEPC.159(55); open- and closed-loop scrubbers are allowed, and hull cleaning needs a Rijkswaterstaat permit.^[3]

—Ship’s stores: Dutch Customs wants to know what supplies are on board, reported through Portbase’s Notification Ship’s Stores service (EORI number required) — your chandler and agent need to line up the stores declaration with the delivery.^[15]

—Provisions, technical stores, spares and launch deliveries: post a requirement and suppliers serving Rotterdam answer with sealed bids; suppliers never see the vessel’s name until award. If you supply ships in Rotterdam, activate Rotterdam.