ROTTERDAM – According to RouteScanner.com, rail services, inland waterway vessels and deep-sea shipping routes from Antwerp reach 82 countries, 332 ports and 1,436 routes. Rotterdam reaches 80 countries, 336 ports and 1,451 routes. Antwerp therefore serves two more countries than Rotterdam, while Rotterdam connects to slightly more ports and routes overall. The differences are illustrated in the maps below. In each comparison, Antwerp’s connections are shown on the left and Rotterdam’s on the right.
367 words | 2-minute read
Maps
Deep-Sea Shipping
Antwerp serves 232 ports in 76 countries, compared with 233 ports in the same 76 countries served from Rotterdam. Antwerp has a particularly strong presence in West Africa. It also maintains connections to destinations on the west coast of the United States, including Los Angeles and Oakland. On the other hand, New Zealand and Iceland do not appear on Antwerp’s route network. Rotterdam does not serve the U.S. West Coast at all but does maintain connections to both New Zealand and Iceland. Another notable finding is the limited number of Canadian ports reached from both hubs, with Rotterdam connecting to three Canadian ports and Antwerp to two. Greenland does not appear in either network.
Inland Navigation
Antwerp serves 73 ports in six countries, while Rotterdam reaches 87 ports in the same six countries. Much of Rotterdam’s advantage comes from its extensive coverage of ports within the Netherlands. Neither Antwerp nor Rotterdam currently shows direct inland waterway connections to Paris. This is likely to change after 2027, when vessels from Antwerp are expected to be able to reach Paris via the Scheldt-Seine connection through Terneuzen and Ghent. Paris is home to one of Europe’s largest inland ports, second only to Duisburg.
It is also noteworthy that neither Antwerp nor Rotterdam currently offers direct connections to Namur or Berlin. A route linking Antwerp to Namur via Liège would appear to be a logical extension of the network. From the Netherlands, Berlin could be reached relatively easily via the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the Mittelland Canal and the Elbe-Havel Canal.
Rail Transport
By rail, Antwerp serves 46 destinations in 12 countries, compared with 47 destinations in 8 countries from Rotterdam. The relatively low number of countries reached by rail from Rotterdam is striking. Antwerp’s rail network extends as far as Spain and serves a number of ports along the Mediterranean coast. Rotterdam, by contrast, has a much more limited presence in the Mediterranean region. Denmark, Norway and Sweden are also absent from Rotterdam’s rail network, despite the existence of fixed rail connections between Denmark and Sweden.
Top 10 Destinations
An analysis by Havendata shows that Antwerp has a relatively stronger presence in the United Kingdom, China, the United States, France, Spain and Belgium. Within the top ten destinations, Rotterdam performs better in Germany, Norway, Brazil and the Netherlands. These figures suggest that Antwerp currently enjoys a broader geographical reach, particularly within Europe.
