Rotterdam crowned best port during the pandemic

Rotterdam has been crowned as the best port during the pandemic in an exclusive poll carried by Splash.

Many so called leading port cities have not lived up to their billing during the pandemic, making slap dash decisions which have made the lives for many in shipping harder – whether it be ill thought out travel restrictions, bans on garbage disposal or rolling out vaccines. Other port cities, however, have proven to be agile, responsive and willing to find solutions and it is this band of port communities Splash was keen to highlight and congratulate with this global survey.

Commenting on coming out top in the pandemic poll, René de Vries, chief harbour master at the Port of Rotterdam, said: “Covid-19 have been difficult times for all of us. Despite the fact that we have announced and complied with strict precautions, we have always kept an eye on the impact on the seafarers of the ships visiting us. The human dimension is always our top priority in the port of Rotterdam. It is very nice and heartwarming that this is recognized by the readers of Splash. We thank them for the recognition and hope to welcome everyone back to our port soon without any restrictions.”

Other notable port mentions in the survey include Auckland topping the polls in Australasia, Vancouver crowned the best in North America, Montevideo named best in South America, Cape Town the top destination in Africa, with Colombo deemed to have been the best Asian port during the pandemic.