As Storage Terminals went to press, a row was brewing over the future of a new Russian-backed oil terminal in port of Rotterdam.
Several Dutch MPs are calling for a freeze on construction of the Shtandart terminal, which is now 100 percent owned by Russian construction and logistics group Summa.
In early September, Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad reported that construction will be completed despite protests from several Dutch politicians. MPs from Leefbaar Rotterdam, the largest party on the city council, SP and GroenLinks want to discourage working with Shtandart. Another group of Dutch MPs had urged the port authority at least to freeze the project as relations between the Netherlands and Russia deteriorated following EU sanctions against the latter after its meddling in Ukraine.
However, Pex Langenberg, vice mayor of Port of Rotterdam and member of the D66 democratic party was quoted as saying that the sanctions have not hit the project. “Moreover, the construction of such an oil terminal is of strategic importance for the country and the global oil industry in general,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
However, it seems that the port authority is to stand firm in its commitment to Summa in allowing the terminal to be built. The €720 million oil hub, with a capacity of 3.1 million cbm, is due for completion by 2016.
