Kateryna Hirnyk11:16, 08.07.25
Rotterdam began reserving space for ships carrying NATO cargo and planning military exercises.
Europe’s largest port, Rotterdam, is preparing for a possible war with Russia, reserving space for ships with military cargo and planning where to redirect the cargo in the event of a conflict.
As Boudewein Simons, executive director of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, told the Financial Times , the port is coordinating with neighboring Antwerp in the event of the arrival of British, American, and Canadian vehicles and cargo.
Earlier in May, the Dutch defense ministry announced that the port of Rotterdam would have to provide space to handle ships carrying military cargo at the request of NATO. Simons said that one or more ships would be moored at the pier for several weeks, four or five times a year. In addition, military exercises would be held several times a year.
The port of Rotterdam is 42 km long. It handles around 436 million tonnes of cargo annually, receiving 28,000 seagoing vessels and 91,000 river vessels from Germany and the hinterland of Europe. The port already had experience with weapons, notably during the 2003 Gulf War, but even at the height of the Cold War it did not have a dedicated wharf for them.
Meanwhile, neighboring Antwerp regularly receives supplies for US troops stationed in Europe. It handles 240 million tons of cargo per year, making it the second largest port in the EU.
Simmons also called on European countries to build up stocks of heavy goods, as they do with oil.
“We should do the same with materials like copper, lithium, graphite and a number of other important raw materials,” he said, adding that areas around ports that have good distribution networks are suitable for such reserves.
NATO is preparing for war
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has warned that Russia could attack Estonia in 5-7 years , but stressed that the alliance “has all the plans in place for this eventuality.”
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also stated that Russia could become a direct threat to NATO within five years.
Politico also wrote that border countries in Europe are preparing their hospitals for war with Russia
(c)UNIAN 2025
They should be preparing for that of course.
But it also unfortunately shows that no one seriously believes that the putinaZi economy is going to crash.
To achieve that requires all out economic war against the chicoms, the ModinaZis and, in case of izlamonazi Iran : all out economic and actual war. Those filthy cunts have not yet been punished for helping putler to murder Ukrainian children.