Two Spanish ports in the Top Tep of Europe: Algeciras (4th) and Barcelona (10th)

The history of the port of Rotterdam begins in the 14th century, from being a small city to a large port city, especially in 1830, when it experienced explosive growth largely due to the Belgian Revolution, during which many companies located in nearby ports decided to move their ships to Rotterdam. At first their dársenas were built on the bank of the Nieuwe Maas River (Nuevo Mosa) but the sedimentation of it prevented access and exit from the port. A channel between Rotterdam and Hellevoersluit was excavated and its construction was completed in 1830. But this new channel was becoming less and less clear by increasing the transit and size of ships as a result of the industrial revolution. In 1866 the city commissioned the engineer Pieter Caland to design a new connection of the port with the North Sea, the well-known channel of Nieuwe Waterweg, whose construction was completed in 1872. With her he joined Rotterdam with Hoek van Holland. In 1956, due to the blockade of the Suez channel, the Europoort area was developed in Rotterdam, which is accessible to larger ships and has given its nickname to the port. The port as a whole is a sum of ports and industrial areas consisting of 6 crude terminals, 5 refineries, 43 chemical and petrochemical companies and 3 gas companies, among others many more, as you can see in the image attached. In 2014 a total of 27,790 vessels with a total of 444,734 Mt were highlighted in this port, and in 2015 there were 28,023 vessels with a total of 466,363 Mt. The majority of ships that have passed through this port in 2015 were between 1,001 and 10,000 gt (45.9%), followed by ships between 10,0001 and 50,000 gt (32.4%) and third ships between 50,001 and 100,000 gt (12.7%). Only 0.6 per cent were ships over 180,000 gt.

The Top Ten of Europe

1-Rotterdam, Netherlands: 28023 vessels and 466.3 Mt.
2-Antwerp (Belgium): 208.4 Mt.
3-Hamburg, Germany: 137.8 Mt.
4-Algeciras (Spain): 98.2 Mt.
5-Marseille, France: 81.7 Mt.
6-Bremen (Germany): 73,4 Mt.
7-Le Havre (France): 68.3 Mt.
8-Genoa, Italy: 50,23 Mt.
9-Dunquerke (France): 46.5 Mt.
10-Barcelona (Spain): 45.9 Mt.