Key points:
- Boluda Shipping has agreed to acquire the Matrans terminal in Rotterdam’s Eemhaven, a key hub for short-sea shipping.
- The 36-hectare site has 1,100 m of quay, 70,000 sqm of covered warehousing, a ro-ro berth and 600 m of rail track.
- The deal follows Boluda’s agreement to buy Samskip, which would give the group 21 maritime terminals and five rail terminals.
What Boluda is buying
Boluda Shipping signed the agreement to acquire Matrans Terminal Rotterdam on 3 November, the company said in a press release. The deal still needs regulatory approval and must meet other closing conditions. The price was not disclosed.
The terminal is located in Eemhaven, one of Rotterdam’s main hubs for European short-sea shipping. It covers 360,000 sqm, including 70,000 sqm of covered warehousing, and has 1,100 m of quay with a water depth of 12.65 m. There is also a ro-ro berth with 9 m of water and 600 m of railway track.
Matrans handles containers, forest products, metals, general and project cargo, as well as ro-ro traffic. It also offers customs clearance, fiscal representation, road transport and freight forwarding in-house.
Part of a bigger plan
The Matrans deal complements Boluda’s agreement to buy the Dutch short-sea and logistics group Samskip, announced at the end of October. As we wrote at the time, that deal could move hundreds of thousands of containers from road to sea.
Once the Samskip deal is completed, Boluda’s network will include 21 maritime terminals and five rail terminals. The group already operates in Rotterdam through its towage and shipping divisions and opened new offices in the city in June. On 4 November, its towage arm also completed the takeover of Muller Dordrecht.
Boluda says terminals like Matrans act as intermodal links between sea, rail and road, which can cut waiting times and CO₂ emissions compared with road-only transport. For hauliers, that means more short-sea capacity competing with long-distance trucking between northern and southern Europe, but also more work in pre- and on-carriage to and from the terminals.
