Sail 2010 has once again focused all eyes on the port of Amsterdam. But the harbour is not just a backdrop for old sailing ships, clippers and schooners. It is still Europe’s fifth port, in spite of a history of obstacles. In the olden days, it was sandbanks, later a railway bridge and now it’s the  tunnels. A future full of challenges.

The port of Amsterdam has always had to overcome difficulties. In the 17th  century – the Golden Age - boats often became stranded on a sandbank off Pampus island just outside the harbour. In those days, ships had to sail around the coastal province of North Holland to enter Amsterdam from the east, crossing the Zuider Zee (now lake IJsselmeer).  Amsterdammers developed a floating dry dock dubbed a ‘ships camel’, to lift deep-keeled boats with their heavy cargos past the drifting sandbanks.

In the nineteenth century, a 20-kilometre-long canal was dug west to the coast, giving the city direct access to the North Sea. After the canal was opened in 1876, Amsterdam became one of the largest shipbuilding centres in the world. However, the lucrative business of building  modern supertankers literally hit other obstacles. The ships were so wide that they could hardly pass between the railway bridge’s pylons in the canal. The bridge was damaged a number of times and was finally replaced by a tunnel.

Locks too small
The Dutch shipbuilding industry died at the end of nineteenth century. A number of shipping companies relocated to Rotterdam. Nevertheless the port of Amsterdam continued to grow, and new terminals were built for the oil, biodiesel, coal, Japanese car and of course container depots. And now there is a new obstacle. The North Sea Canal’s locks at IJmuiden are too old and too small for ever bigger container ships.

Rotterdam, the world’s tenth largest container terminal, has never been particularly pleased with Amsterdam’s ambitions in the container industry. And in Rotterdam, they think Amsterdam’s call to expand the locks at Ijmuiden is slightly exaggerated. Dick Broeder, former port employer in Amsterdam, still gets wound up about Rotterdam’s attitude.

“Compared to Rotterdam we are a small port. It’s like World War III when just a fraction of Rotterdam’s business goes to Amsterdam. We see it differently.”

Competition with Rotterdam
Amsterdam has the feeling that its bigger brother Rotterdam won’t even concede a small piece of the pie. The two ports are just 80 kilometres away from each other and serve the same hinterland, Germany’s Ruhr region. They worked together on the exploitation of the Betuwe line, a railway line to Germany for freight trains which opened in 2007. Nevertheless the two Dutch ports appear to be caught up in a commercial battle. This may seem bizarre to outsiders, but it has a lot to do with old wounds. Amsterdam has watched time and time again as its successful industries moved to Rotterdam.  First it was the shipbuilding industry, then the shipping companies and now it’s the containers, explains Mr Broeder.

Just when Amsterdam’s container terminals started running well, the crisis broke out. So there was less cargo. And what there was, was loaded onto large ships. These very big container ships couldn’t reach Amsterdam. So it’s logical that they go to Rotterdam.

Tunnels latest obstacle
Amsterdam’s expensive new container terminal hasn’t seen a customer for almost a year. The city wants new larger locks at IJmuiden so that the largest container ships can use the port. The Dutch government finally agreed to this at the end of last year. The new locks are supposed to be completed in 2016. But ships which pass through the 18-metre-deep locks will hit another obstacle just a few hundred metres further along the canal. The tunnels under the canal are at a depth of just 14 metres.  In spite of this the old port employer thinks the new locks should be built:

"Of course you could decide not to make the lock that deep because of the tunnels.  But if they ever do something about the tunnels, at least the canal is deep enough. I think there should be proper access to Europe’s fifth port. And the locks are 80 years old, so they need replacing. The last couple of metres won’t make any difference."

True to tradition, as Amsterdam removes one obstacle, another one crops up. But the old locks are big enough for Sail 2010’s tall ships, even if it is a bit of a squash.