The Amsterdam Port Authority is responsible for the efficient operations of the Port of Amsterdam. The North Sea Canal is the major approach to the Port of Amsterdam. It is 275 meters wide and 20 kilometers long. The port facilities of the North Sea Canal and the North Sea Harbor and outer canal include the new North Pier (2210 meters long) and the new South Pier (3170 meters long).

In 2007, over 8800 vessels called at the Port of Amsterdam. Of these 5635 moored at the Port of Amsterdam, 2926 moored at Ijmuiden, 225 called at Beverwijk, and 59 used Zaanstad. The Port of Amsterdam handled a total 65.4 million tons of sea-going cargo, including 44.4 million tons of incoming and 20.9 million tons of outgoing cargoes. sea-going cargoes included 26.5 million tons of liquid bulk, 32.8 million tons of dry bulk, and 6 million tons of general cargo.

Within this sea-going cargo total, the Port of Amsterdam handled 3.4 million tons in 386.2 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo, including 1.8 million tons in 197.3 thousand TEUs of incoming containers and 1.6 million tons in 188.9 thousand TEUs of outgoing containers.

Inbound sea-going cargoes in the Port of Amsterdam in 2007 included almost 13 million tons of solid fuel, 10.9 million tons of crude oil and refined products, 7.7 million tons of foods, 6.9 million tons of crude and manufactured minerals, 2.2 million tons of other goods, and 1.5 million tons of chemical products. Inbound cargoes in volumes under one million tons included metal industry products, fertilizers, and agricultural products.

The Port of Amsterdam handled outbound sea-going cargoes that included 14.1 million tons of crude oil and refined products, 2.1 million tons of other goods, 1.8 million tons of solid fuel, and 1.3 million tons of foods. Outbound cargoes in volumes less than a million tons included ore and metal residues, fertilizers, crude and manufactured minerals, chemical products, agricultural products, and metal industry products.

The Port of Amsterdam's Ijmuiden port handled a total of 21.8 million tons of sea-going traffic, including 18.8 million tons of inbound cargo and 3 million tons of outbound cargo. Of this total, 18.5 million tons was bulk cargo, and 17.8 million tons was inbound bulk cargo. The Port of Amsterdam's Beverwijk location handled 541 thousand tons of sea-going cargo, and the Zaanstad location handled 165 thousand tons.

Vessels must pass through three North Sea locks to approach the Port of Amsterdam. The North lock is 400 meters long, 47.3 meters wide, and 15 meters deep, and the maximum size of vessels passing the North lock is 350 meters long, 45 meters wide with 13.7 meters draft. The Middle lock is 200 meters long, 25 meters wide, and 10.12 meters deep, and the maximum size of vessels passing the North lock is 185 meters long, 24 meters wide with 8.5 meters draft. The South Central Middle lock is 100 meters long, 18 meters wide, and 8 meters deep, and the maximum size of vessels passing the North lock is 95 meters long, 17 meters wide with 6 meters draft. Vessels more than 43 meters wide or with a draft over 13.1 meters in salt water must have a draft/beam license.

The Port of Amsterdam's North Sea Canal facilities at Ijmuiden contain a total 7.2 thousand meters of quays and alongside depths from 6.5 to 16.5 meters. The Zeehaven Ijmuiden facilities include 4.3 thousand meters of quays with alongside depths from 7 to 11 meters. The quays at Corus Staal BV are a total 1.2 thousand meters long with alongside depths from 9 to 16.5 meters. The Inner Harbour No. 3 quay is 212 meters long with alongside depth of 6.5 meters, and the Port Authority of Ijmuiden manages the quays at Corus Staal BV and the Inner Harbour No. 3.

The 31 quays in the Amsterdam Harbor total over 25 kilometers in length and have depths varying from four to 15 meters. The five quays at the Port of Amsterdam's Beverwijk harbor total almost 2.4 thousand meters and have alongside depths from 7 to 11 meters. The nine Zaandam harbour quays in the Port of Amsterdam contain a total of over 2.6 thousand meters of quays with alongside depths from 2.5 to 10 meters.

The Port of Amsterdam is one of Europe's most important junctions for multi-modal transportation. With 85 million tons of transshipments per year, the Port of Amsterdam handles all kinds of cargoes, including dry and liquid bulk, general cargo, and containers. The Port of Amsterdam offers excellent connections with inland waterway, rail, and road networks.

The Port of Amsterdam has rail connections to the major rail networks in Europe, and it has its own marshalling yards with connections to main lines. The International Amsterdam Airport, Schiphol, serves over 240 international destinations, and it is just 20 minutes from the Port of Amsterdam. The port is located on the A10 and A9 motorways and, through these, directly to Europe's international highway network. The Port of Amsterdam is working with Schiphol to develop an area for logistics service providers, Atlaspark. The park will be located centrally for the convenience of companies needing five or more hectares that transport goods by both water and air. Therefore, these companies can more easily coordinate their cargo assembly and handling activities for greater efficiency and cost savings.

More than 33% of the goods moving through the Port of Amsterdam are carried by inland shippers. Its proximity to the River Rhine gives the Port of Amsterdam access to the industrial and consumer markets in the Netherlands, Austria, German, and Switzerland. Coastal, or short-sea, transport is growing in popularity, and the Port of Amsterdam has long had strong maritime connections with Scandinavia, Russia, Great Britain, and Baltic Sea ports. The tideless Port of Amsterdam serves intercontinental shippers as well. Large ocean-going vessels can reach the port in less than three hours (from the North Sea to the docks), and the terminals can accommodate ships with as much as 13.7 meters of draft.

The increasing volume of dry bulk cargoes handled in the Port of Amsterdam includes biomass coal, agricultural bulk, sand and gravel, and granite. The Port of Amsterdam also handles liquid bulk cargoes that include oil products, special chemicals, and biofuels.

The Port of Amsterdam has the full range of facilities to handle all kinds of cargoes. Specialized terminals in the Port of Amsterdam are devoted to loading/unloading, storing, and processing specific cargoes. These include a covered all-weather terminal for moisture- or water-sensitive products. Several terminals specializing in bulk cargoes in the Port of Amsterdam are dedicated to goods like sand, coal, and oil products. Terminals specializing in handling food cargoes include refrigerated facilities for storing and processing food and an internal veterinary inspection post. There are also several terminals handling car carriers and roll-on/roll-off ships in the Port of Amsterdam. Finally, the Port of Amsterdam allows very large cruise ships to moor at the modern cruise terminal near the city center.

The Port of Amsterdam is focusing on transshipment of containers through the new state-of-the-art Ceres Paragon Terminal as an area of growth. Today, the terminal is operating at about 60% of capacity. The terminal is the only container terminal in the world that is equipped to load/unload vessels on both sides at the same time. The terminal handles TEUs of containerized general cargoes that included cars, steel rolls, and paper products. Containerized food cargoes included fish from Ijmuiden and raw materials for the nation's food processing industry, including cocoa. The Port of Amsterdam is the world's largest cocoa port.

The first deep-sea route using the Ceres terminal involves a fixed circuit shared between four international container shipping companies: NYK of Japan, Hapag Lloyd of Germany, OOCL of Hong Kong, and MISC of Malaysia. EU1 sails a route between Europe and Japan. The Port of Amsterdam also offers container service for the local area. Short-sea routes in Europe using the Port of Amsterdam sail frequently to England, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, the Baltic states, and Portugal.

To further the interests of the Port of Amsterdam and its users, the port authority employs a chain-management approach, focusing support on key sectors and markets to strengthen its international logistics function. While the Port of Amsterdam concentrates on the business residents currently in the port, it is aware of and responsive to the needs of new port residents.

The chain-management approach is based on the Port of Amsterdam's experience and relationships with companies in the port, and it focuses on corporations that specialize in services or products related to food, building materials, coal, agricultural bulk, steel and scrap, wood products, molasses, oil products, specialty chemicals, offshore oil and gas, logistics services, and automotive logistics.

The Port of Amsterdam is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. The new Passenger Terminal Amsterdam allows cruise vessels to moor adjacent to the city center where passengers have a short walk to some of the world's best attractions. The terminal includes a tourist information office, shopping and catering facilities, and a large reception hall. The terminal also offers mooring facilities for inland cruise operations and touring boats, and it hosts many international exhibitions and events. Passenger Terminal Amsterdam is located near Central Station where passengers can connect with the Schiphol Airport and more than 50 international train destinations. The terminal has 600 meters of quays with alongside depth of 10.5 meters, and vessels can moor both port and starboard. There is room for ships of up to 330 meters to turn in the terminal, and the port has moveable gangways that adjust in height from 2.1 to 11.7 meters.

The Felison Terminal is located at the Port of Amsterdam's North Sea Canal entrance. Built to resemble a ship, the terminal offers open-water berths that are ideal for cruise ships and ferries. The quay is 235 meters long with alongside depth of 8.5 meters, suitable for larger cruise ships and ferries. With capacity for 1500 passengers at a time, the terminal also has transport to the city center, the airport, and other interesting locations in the area.

There are also three more passenger terminals in the Port of Amsterdam. While they are used mainly for cargo, they are available for passengers as well. Located in Amsterdam Westpoort, these include the Scandia Terminal, the Ceres Amsterdam Marine Terminal, and the Waterland Terminal.

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