Maasvlakte 2 ports to be named after Princesses
04-28-2009Three ports on Maasvlakte 2 are to be named after the Princesses Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. Queen Beatrix announced this during a visit to the Maasvlakte 2 project.
The Queen revealed the names of the Prinses Amaliahaven, the Prinses Alexiahaven and the Prinses Arianehaven during a gathering with 250 invited guests at the new information centre ‘FutureLand'. This is situated on the boundary between the existing Maasvlakte and Maasvlakte 2. From here, the company had a good view of the dredgers as they passed by continually, as well as the first new land that emerged from the waters of the North Sea this month.
In addition to the three ports, which are named after the daughters of Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima, there is a port bearing the name of Prinses Margriet. This member of the Dutch Royal Family already had her ‘own' port in the Eemhaven area, but that was filled in seven years ago to create more space for container handling. The Port Authority and the municipality of Rotterdam therefore decided to name the fourth port on Maasvlakte 2 after her.
The port of Rotterdam has a long tradition of naming ports after members of the Royal Family. In the 1950s, ports in the Eemhaven area were named after the Princesses Beatrix, Margriet and Christina. Later, two ports were given the names of Princess Beatrix's first children: Prince Willem-Alexander and Prince (Johan) Friso. A third generation is therefore now being added.
Choosing the names of the young princesses also represents the long-term focus of the Maasvlakte 2 project. The aim of expanding the port by 20% in this way is to ensure that Rotterdam can continue to serve as Europe's most important port by far for generations to come.
Not only are ports in Rotterdam named after members of the Royal Family, but also rivers in the Netherlands (particularly the Stadshavens and Waalhaven/Eemhaven area), Europe (mainly in the Botlek) and other continents (on the Maasvlakte). In addition to this, there is a series of numbered ‘Petroleum Ports', the name of which makes it immediately clear that more stringent safety regulations apply here than elsewhere. Finally, there are names with old, geographic references, some referring to the odd illustrious Rotterdammer (Caland) or the function of the port in question.
Maasvlakte 2
The construction of Maasvlakte 2 got under way in September. At the moment, an average of five dredgers, operated by the consortium PUMA (Boskalis and Van Oord), are working on the project continually. Weekly, around one and a half million cubic metres of sand are brought from the North Sea to Maasvlakte 2. Where the North Sea now is, a start will be made as early as next year on the construction of the first container terminal. In 2013, the first ships will be mooring here. Already, 40% of Maasvlakte 2 has been leased to companies involved in loading and unloading containers. The total project will cost in the region of €3 billion. The aim of the Port of Rotterdam Authority is to make Maasvlakte 2 the most sustainable port area.
Information centre ‘FutureLand'
The names of the new ports were revealed in FutureLand, the new information centre about Maasvlakte 2. FutureLand is situated on the sea defences of the existing Maasvlakte and will open to the public on 1 May. From the building, visitors can see with their own eyes how construction of the new land is progressing. The centre also provides information on the port expansion, the nature compensation and all other aspects of the project. It is open from Tuesday to Friday and on Sundays.
© Port of Rotterdam Authority
Page updated at: 07-08-2009
