Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the principal Dutch port, at the Rhine-Meuse delta on the North Sea, and was the busiest port in the world from 1962 until Singapore and then Shanghai overtook it. Its deep-water Maasvlakte and Europoort complexes handle crude oil, containers, and bulk for the European hinterland via the Rhine. The 19th-century Nieuwe Waterweg canal, opened in 1872, gave it a direct sea channel; L. Smit’s ocean salvage tugs, including the Zwarte Zee, were based here.