“It wasn’t only the coronavirus that caused the reduced transhipment numbers; it was primarily the energy transition that resulted in a significant decrease of coal transhipment in 2020,” stated the port authority.

As reported, the effects of the coronavirus crisis have been felt primarily by other ports in the North Sea Canal region. For the North Sea Canal ports-Beverwijk, IJmuiden, Zaanstad and Amsterdam- the overall transhipment in 2020 amounted to around 91 million tons compared to 105 million tons in 2019.

While transhipment was at a record high of 86.9 million tonnes in 2019, it stood at 74.3 million tonnes in 2020, reflecting a decrease of 14 percent.

This past coronavirus year, the energy transition had significant repercussions for coal transhipment, which decreased by 52 percent to 7.5 million tons in the Port of Amsterdam in 2020. In 2019, the transhipment of coal was only 15.6 million tons.

According to the Port Authority, the closure of the Hemweg power plant in December 2019, the availability of more renewable energy options and the low price of gas last year were the direct causes of this sharp decline, making coal comparatively more costly.

No sea cruise ships were accepted by Amsterdam in 2020, compared to 117 sea cruise ships docked at the port a year earlier.

A variety of river cruise ships have been received by the Port of Amsterdam during the summer months. During the summer months of last year, when the coronavirus controls were briefly relaxed, they numbered 195, compared to 2,282 in 2019.

Maritime Business World