Activists are again blocking operations in the port of Rotterdam. This time, they are not specifically targeting rail infrastructure, but rather the APM and Rotterdam World Gateway terminals. The protest is part of a broader European movement that seeks to block infrastructure across the continent this weekend, the activists say.
The activist group, Geef Tegengas, has blocked the Rotterdam port railway numerous times this year already. Some 100 of them have returned, Geef Tegengas says, this time to the APM and Rotterdam World Gateway terminals. They voice similar demands as before: they want to dismantle the “logistics empire”, which in their view contributes to climate change and weapon transport to Israel.
Neither APM Terminals nor Rotterdam World Gateway were available for comment, so it remains unclear what the immediate impact is on rail freight operations. Geef Tegengas says that they are only blocking the road entrances, but more protests are planned during the weekend.
The group refused to share specific plans for the coming days, but earlier said that “the protest takes place ahead of the mass blockade ‘Rotterdam Block Party: No Bombs, Barrels and Bullshit’, where hundreds of people will halt the port and its deadly operations. The protests are part of an international series of protests against the logistics empire – infrastructure will be blocked in all of Europe this weekend.”
Investigations in the terminals
Spokesperson Sara van Veen says that the Rotterdam municipality and the port authority refuse to be transparent about the goods moving through the port. “A motion calling on the council to investigate the human rights violations in which the port is involved has still not been implemented after months. That is why we are forced to conduct our own investigation and expose the scandals in the port.”
Some of the activists have taken matters into their own hands and have gone into the terminals to find out what is being transported. “The decision to block APM and RWG is not random. Maersk and MSC use these terminals to handle the weapon transports to Israel. Without weapons, no genocide”, they say.