Current Situation
The Nieuwe Waterweg gives the Port of Rotterdam its deep-water access to the North Sea. From Hook of Holland it stretches for approximately 20.5 kilometres (12.7 mi) where the waterway continues as the Nieuwe Maas. The very first Nieuwe Waterweg—a breach through the dunes at Hook of Holland—was only 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) long, but in around 1877 the channel was made much larger and wider and the current Nieuwe Waterweg was created. Currently the width of the channel is between 480 and 675 metres (1,570 and 2,215 ft) and it is dredged to a depth of 14.5–16 metres (48–52 ft) below Amsterdam Ordnance Datum.
It is this channel, together with the dredged channels in the North Sea, Maasgeul and Eurogeul, that allows ships like the MS Berge Stahl and MV Vale Rio de Janeiro to enter Europoort.
The Dutch government agency Rijkswaterstaat is responsible for maintaining the channel.
Read more about this topic: Nieuwe Waterweg
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