Rotterdam Port Tracker
Port of Rotterdam · Netherlands · UN/LOCODE NLRTM
Free live Rotterdam port congestion today: vessel wait times, ships at anchor, berth occupancy and delay risk for Europe's busiest container port. Updated through the day.
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Port of Rotterdam conditions — last 24 hours (as of 8 Oct 2026, UTC)
Port of Rotterdam was holding 50 commercial vessels at anchor. The median stay was 17.8 hours. 26% of port calls anchored at all; the rest went straight to a berth.
- Congestion level
- Low congestion
- Commercial vessels at anchor
- 50
- Median time at anchorage, excl. bunkering (last 24 hours)
- 17.8 hours
- Completed anchorage stays measured
- 103
- Median time at anchorage, excl. bunkering (last 7 days)
- 16.2 hours
- Berth occupancy
- 78%
- Port calls that anchored at all (last 30 days)
- 26% (2,347 of 9,050 measured calls)
Measured from public AIS data: time spent at anchor inside the port area by commercial vessels (IMO number, 100 m and longer), with bunkering anchorages excluded from the headline figure. It covers all anchorage time — including waiting for orders — not only the queue for a berth, so it is a different measure from the berth-queue figures published elsewhere and can read higher or lower than them. Ships that went straight to a berth are not in the median at all, so the share of calls that anchored is the denominator it should be read against — it is not comparable with a figure averaged over every arrival, or with whole-turnaround time. This is a dated snapshot; the live Port of Rotterdam tracker updates continuously.
Port of Rotterdam anchorage time by ship type — last 30 days (as of 8 Oct 2026, UTC)
| Ship type | Anchorage stays | Median time at anchorage |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo | 1044 | 12.7 hours |
| Tanker | 1039 | 26.1 hours |
| Container | 214 | 22.0 hours |
| Passenger | 55 | 3.1 hours |
Same measurement as the headline figure — commercial vessels with an IMO number, 100 m and longer, measured from public AIS — grouped by the ship type each vessel broadcasts. Stays are tracked for at most 72 hours; where a share reaches that cap, the median understates the tail.
About Port of Rotterdam
Port of Rotterdam is Europe's largest seaport and the busiest container port outside Asia, processing over 15 million TEUs annually. Stretching 40 km along the Rhine-Meuse estuary, it serves as the primary gateway for goods entering and leaving the European market. On a typical day 30–60 deep-sea vessels are waiting or working in the Maasvlakte, Europoort and Botlek areas, with tidal windows on the Nieuwe Waterweg and North Sea wind conditions being the two factors that most often move a berthing slot.
Strengths
- Deepest port in Northern Europe — capable of receiving the world's largest ULCVs fully laden
- Unmatched Rhine-Meuse barge and canal network connecting directly to Germany, Switzerland, and Central Europe
- Europoort petroleum complex is Europe's largest — energy sector logistics are a major port strength
- Excellent multimodal connectivity: road, rail, and 350+ daily barge departures to the European hinterland
- Betuweroute dedicated freight rail line moves containers to the German border without competing with passenger traffic
- Highly automated container handling at Maasvlakte 2 (APMT MVII and RWG) keeps crane productivity stable during volume peaks
Operational challenges
- North Sea weather exposure at Maasvlakte — storm conditions and wind gusts regularly delay vessel movements
- Nieuwe Waterweg approach creates tidal scheduling constraints for the deepest-draught vessels
- High operating costs compared to Southern European ports competing for Mediterranean-routed cargo
- Barge congestion in the inland waterway network can leave containers on the terminal long after the vessel has sailed
- Terminal-hopping by alliance services spread across Maasvlakte, Delta and Euromax adds inter-terminal transport time
- Dutch nitrogen and emission rules constrain terminal expansion and heavy road drayage capacity
Frequently asked questions about Port of Rotterdam
What is the current vessel waiting time at Rotterdam port?
The table on this page gives the measured median by ship type for the last 30 days, recomputed through the day from AIS positions collected every few minutes. Tankers are both the largest group and the longest wait at Rotterdam; container ships sit below them. About 26% of Rotterdam port calls anchor at all, so the figure describes roughly one call in four — the rest berth on arrival.
How does weather affect Rotterdam port operations?
Strong westerly winds from the North Sea are the primary weather factor at Rotterdam. Wind speeds above 20–25 knots can delay vessel movements along the Nieuwe Waterweg channel and at the exposed Maasvlakte 2 terminals, and above roughly 30 knots gantry cranes are commonly stopped for safety.
What terminals does Rotterdam port have?
Rotterdam's main container terminals are at Maasvlakte (APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, Rotterdam World Gateway, ECT Delta and Euromax), which handle the majority of deep-sea container traffic. Europoort and Botlek handle liquid bulk, chemicals and breakbulk.
Is Rotterdam port congested right now?
PortInsight tracks live AIS vessel counts, anchorage waiting times and berth occupancy for Rotterdam and classifies congestion as low, moderate, high or severe. The status shown on the Rotterdam page reflects the last 3–5 minutes of AIS data rather than a monthly average.
How long does a Rotterdam port call take from arrival to departure?
A typical deep-sea container call at Rotterdam runs roughly 18–30 hours from pilot boarding to departure, depending on exchange volume. PortInsight measures total port time (entry to exit) from AIS so you can compare the current figure against the recent baseline.
What is the NLRTM port code?
NLRTM is the UN/LOCODE identifier for the Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. It appears in bills of lading, AIS destination fields and EDI messages to identify Rotterdam as a port of call.
What does a delay at Rotterdam cost?
Every hour a vessel waits outside Port of Rotterdam accrues demurrage. The free Rotterdam live demurrage cost counter converts the current anchorage queue into an estimated hourly and daily cost using vessel-type day rates, and the demurrage calculator lets you price your own container or voyage delay.