rotterdam shipspotting questions

[clayton stephens]

hey guys, i have a few questions about the port of rotterdam, yes the one in holland (nl)
i have seen several great pics of ships at this port, but i have s few questions about spotting locations since i don't know much about this area's geography. here are the questions:

where are the best spots to see ships without being questioned by security?

is there any public transportation close to the locations,

since i only see ships during daylight hours, what uis rotterdam's summer sunrise and sun settime

how many ships enter or depart rotterdam (not incliding barge traffc) an a daily basis

please reply if you know the answers, also

i found videos on youtube of someone filming the large containerships but i don't know the location where he was filming from, i have also seen videos of the containerships while they are at their berths, does the port really allow you to get that close to them? just thought i'd ask. thank you.

[Fred Vloo]

Hi Clayton,

In May sunset is around 06:00 sundown 21:00
in June around 05:30 down at 21:30

There are trainstations in Maasluis and Hoek van Holland, you can walk from both stations to the river. pictures can be taken with the sun in your back til 10:00
I prefer to be on the other side of the river. From Maasluis you can take the ferry to the other side. If you leave the ferry and walk 100 meters to the far right side of the ferryberth you have a fantastic view on the river, ships pass quiet close. Beware of waterdrops when ships pass fast.
When you want to see the real big ones,you need at least a bike. You have to go to the Noordzeeweg*, where you have a view at the 7th petroleumhaven Calandkanaal and on the other side of the road the river. At the end of the road 9km from Rozenburg there's an artificial hill from where you can see the large Stena ferries to England, the big bulkers, the sea and behind the big bulker berth you can see the large containerterminals where the big boxships come( unfortunately to far away to take decent photos). At the Scheurhaven, Scheurweg* you can take the fastferry straight into the center of the Maasvlakte, from there it is about 5 km to Slag Maasmond* which is the best place to be from 10:30 till late afternoon.
Names with an asterisk * can be found in www.maps.google.com by searching: Rotterdam,and that specific streetname. There's a rulerfunction so you can meassure all distances  yourself.
You can also see all places in "streetview" so you have an idea what to expect.
The places I mentioned are free to access and I have never been questioned by security.
There are some places where you have very close access to the berths, but then you really need a car.
Here: http://www.portofrotterdam.com/nl/Scheepvaart/actueel/aankomst-vertrek-schepen/Pages/default.aspx you can find daily arrivals, in port and left. from left to right, click on the photos.
If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask.
Have fun Fred

[clayton stephens]

thank you very much for the info, those look like great spotting locations, i have a few more questions, i did look at google maps for rotterdam and is there any good place to see the ships berthed at the amazonehaven or mississippihaven berths? it looked like they are kind of tucked in there to prevent people from seeing them close up, nice looking facilities though. on google maps, there is a road called markweg that appers to do a loop around right where it ends at the channel where the big ships enter and depart the maasvlakte berths. oh! one more thing. the fast ferry, how close does it get to the 8e petroleumhaven and or the europort iron ore berths (where berge stahl normly docks) just thought i'd ask, thanks again

[Fred Vloo]

You can forget about the Europahaven, it's not accesible. Amazonehaven is still possible however they're building some new factory and situation may change any week. There's a big parking lot, it's private, but I haven't been sent away so far. The end of the Markweg is also one of my favorites. At the end turn right, pass the berth for the pilottugs and voila, incoming ships that turn just in front of you. The fast ferry is passing those locations you mention, but it is fast and I don't really know how close it gets. Use the ruler zoom in real close and position the ferry in the middle of the shippinglane and you have an idea ;