Why we ship from Rotterdam
Rotterdam handles roughly 14 million TEU annually and offers direct deep-sea services to every major scrap-consuming region — Nhava Sheva, Chennai, Shanghai, Ningbo, Port Klang, Ho Chi Minh, Jebel Ali, Mersin, Aliaga, Alexandria, Durban and Houston. Vessel frequency means our containers rarely sit more than 5–7 days between yard-out and gate-in at the terminal, which translates into predictable lay-can windows for LC-based buyers. Rotterdam is also a bonded free-zone port with digitalised customs (Portbase), so paperwork moves faster than at feeder ports in the region.
Yard consolidation and grade segregation
Material arrives at our Rotterdam-area yard from collection partners across the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and northern France. Every inbound load is weighed on a certified weighbridge, photographed on the tipper, and assigned an inbound reference. Ferrous is separated from non-ferrous at the gate; non-ferrous is then sorted by grade family — UBC, extrusion, Twitch/Zorba, wire (Millberry / Berry), Birch-Cliff, brass, stainless 304/316, HMS 1&2 and shredded. Cross-contamination is the number-one buyer complaint in scrap trading, so segregated stockpiles are physically separated by concrete bay walls and colour-tagged. Nothing is loaded to a buyer's contract until it has been re-verified against that contract's written specification.
Container loading: 20GP, 40HQ and break-bulk
Non-ferrous grades usually load in 20GP containers because payloads (22–25 MT for densified UBC bales or Millberry drums) hit the road-legal gross weight before they hit cube-out. HMS 1&2, shredded steel and Zorba typically load in 20GP with 27–28 MT payloads under the SOLAS VGM regime. Extrusion and long-bar aluminum load in 40HQ when volume permits. Larger contracts (500+ MT) can ship break-bulk on multi-purpose vessels from Rotterdam's Waalhaven bulk terminals. Every container is floor-lined with kraft paper for non-ferrous, has a tally sheet inside the door before sealing, and is photographed at three stages: empty, mid-load, sealed with high-security bolt seal.
SGS, BV and Cotecna pre-shipment inspection
Buyers who require third-party pre-shipment inspection (PSI) can nominate SGS, Bureau Veritas, Cotecna, Intertek or TÜV. The inspection is booked before loading begins; the inspector attends the yard, verifies the material against the contract specification, witnesses weighing, takes representative samples for XRF or wet-chemistry, verifies container numbers and seal numbers, and issues a Certificate of Inspection (CoI) that travels with the shipping documents. For destinations that mandate PSI at origin (India CRCL, Indonesian PIB, several Chinese ports for restricted grades), we default to SGS or BV and quote CIF-inclusive of inspection fees. Our radiation-clearance line is standard on every non-ferrous certificate.
EU customs, waste-shipment law and export declarations
Every non-ferrous export from the EU moves under either Annex III (green-listed) or Annex IV (amber-listed) of Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on shipments of waste. Green-listed grades — UBC, clean extrusion, Millberry, Birch-Cliff, HMS — require an Annex VII form travelling with the container, plus written consent from the consignee's competent authority for OECD destinations. Non-OECD destinations follow the destination country's own control regime (BIS in India, JORT in Turkey, KEPCO/K-eco in Korea). Our customs broker files the export declaration (EX-A / EX-1) in DMS and clears the container in Portbase; MRN and B/L numbers are shared with the buyer as soon as they are issued.
Vessel booking and lay-can management
We hold nominated-carrier accounts with MSC, Maersk, CMA-CGM, ONE, HMM and Hapag-Lloyd. Once inspection passes and customs is cleared, the container is trucked to the nominated terminal (RWG, APMT-MVII, ECT Delta) and gate-in is confirmed. Buyers on CIF terms receive the booking confirmation, gate-in date, estimated departure and estimated arrival within one business day. Sailings from Rotterdam to Nhava Sheva run 18–22 days; Shanghai 28–32 days; Jebel Ali 15–18 days; Mersin 10–12 days; Ho Chi Minh 30–34 days; Houston 12–14 days. LC-based buyers receive the negotiable Bill of Lading via bank courier within 3–5 business days of vessel departure.
Export documentation set
Every shipment ships with: commercial invoice, packing list with per-container weights, Bill of Lading (original + 2 copies), certificate of origin (EUR.1 where a preferential trade agreement applies), Annex VII waste-shipment form (green-listed grades), SGS/BV Certificate of Inspection when nominated, insurance certificate for CIF terms, and a photo log of the loaded and sealed containers. LC-based buyers receive the full documentary set through their advising bank; TT-based buyers receive scanned copies within 48 hours of B/L issuance and originals by DHL/FedEx.
Payment terms and risk mitigation
Standard terms are 30% telegraphic-transfer advance against pro-forma invoice and 70% balance against scanned shipping documents (or 70% Letter of Credit at sight against document presentation, buyer's choice). The 30% advance covers our procurement and yard handling; the 70% releases only once the buyer has evidence the material is on the water. Break-bulk and vessel-charter contracts are structured on stage payments tied to weighing, loading and B/L milestones. For first-time buyers, LC at sight through a top-tier European bank is the default; TT-only terms are offered to counterparties with an established track record.