Why Dutch activists are targetting the port of Rotterdam

Last week, on the first day of the 2025 Nato summit, Rotterdam harbour’s railways were shut down by action group Geef Tegengas. The group focuses on how logistical hubs act as bottlenecks of the industries fuelling war, genocide, injustice and ecological collapse. Working with allies, the group is rapidly changing the face of activism against destructive industries, many of whom use the city as a hub of commercial operations. In this piece, one of the activists involved reflects on the group’s recent action.

Our vans kick up plumes of dust as we drive down the service road next to the train tracks, putting us on edge that somebody will spot us. We arrive at a gate, and all get out, pulling on blue suits and keffiyehs as the vans drive away. As we walk along the tracks, there is a sense of determination amongst us. We walk quickly and quietly, the only noise coming from our police liaison. He is calling the rail operators, informing them that 25 activists will be occupying the only train track in and out of Rotterdam harbour, the biggest port in Europe.

After three phone calls, carefully identifying where on the tracks we are, we move on. Lock-on pipes are buried underneath the tracks, and people clip themselves in place, attaching themselves to the tracks, impossible to move without a trained technical unit of the police, who won’t arrive for hours. Banners are hoisted above the rails, and safety watchers position themselves at either end of the tracks with flares, in case a train missed the call from the railway operator. In a matter of minutes, there are no trains entering or exiting the harbour, causing an estimated 250,000 euros of damages an hour.

Our direct action, organised by Dutch collective Geef Tegengas, marked the first day of the NATO summit in The Hague, and two days before a shipment of F35 parts was scheduled to arrive in Rotterdam from Israel. Both events are illustrative of a global military hegemony slaughtering people daily, and fuelling ecological collapse. The blockade shut down a key bottleneck in an empire of logistics spanning the globe, transporting thousands of bombs, oil barrels, and other bullshit which is decimating our world and its peoples. The campaign highlights the role of the logistics industry in imperial capitalism, as well as exposing it as a bottleneck and potential target for those struggling for a better world. Our demands are for an immediate trade embargo with Israel, a just transition plan to end environmentally destructive industries in the port, and an end to all trade linked with places where war crimes are committed and human rights and the right to indigenous self-determination are being violated.

The action was the sixth time that the harbour’s rail connection has been cut off, after a series of actions stopped trains for five days in April. These actions are the latest in a long-running campaign against the port of Rotterdam, a key point in international trade, and as such a critical point for disruption and direct action. Having identified a global, imperial capitalist system as the driving force behind war, genocide, injustice and ecological collapse, Geef Tegengas is using a campaign of direct disruption to halt deadly and destructive businesses and increase their operating costs. Alongside this, the collective works with a broad coalition of allies within the city of Rotterdam, including unions, religious and community groups, and climate activists, to force a public discussion around the complicity of the port in destruction. The hope is to also start a conversation about what sort of port would best serve the interests of Rotterdammers, and the communities it connects to via the harbour.

Whilst we were sitting or lying on train tracks, reading, discussing politics, or making up games to pass the time, hundreds of people gathered in Rotterdam city center to the headquarters of Danish shipping company Maersk. Maersk is responsible for shipping F35 parts from Israel to Rotterdam, and from Rotterdam to the US, which then delivers them back to Israel, and has recently been the subject of the international Mask Off Maersk campaign, led by the Palestinian Youth Movement. Rotterdammers marched through the streets, calling for an end to this genocidal trade, and bringing special attention to the Maersk Izmir ship, carrying F35 parts, which was meant to dock in Rotterdam two days later. Geef Tegengas has put special emphasis not only on direct action, but also on deep coalition building with a range of allies into the area, which has brought out large, diverse and determined crowds, at short notice and on a regular basis. 

The campaign is clearly having an impact, with Rotterdam municipality beginning a special investigation into shipments passing through the harbour with links to human rights abuses, specifically focussing on the genocide committed against Palestinians by Israel. The Maersk Izmir, the ship carrying the F35 parts, is now avoiding the city of Rotterdam - in the last two months it was scheduled to dock in the city twice, and both times rerouted and instead docked in Germany after protests. Indeed, Maersk seems to be feeling the international pressure against their activities, last week announcing an end to shipments from designated occupied territories. 

Back on the tracks, police arrive and manage to remove people after 4 hours, with sparks flying as they cut away the lock on pipes, and manhandle people into buses to take them away. With more police at the scene than activists, it’s clear that they feared escalation, but the activists remain calm yet determined. Meanwhile, many in the city centre were snatched from the streets by secret police units embedded within the protest. Rows of riot cops stood between the crowd and the Maersk HQ, batons and shields out, defending capital from the power of ordinary people. The effectiveness of the campaign is bringing us more and more attention from the authorities. However, if the police or authorities believe that this repression will put off campaigns, they have made a miscalculation. As genocide, war and environmental collapse continue, Geef Tegengas will be taking further action, with our friends and allies, for a better world.

Our bus drives away, kicking dust into the windshields of the 10 riot vans that escort us away from the tracks. At the same time, other vans, also with blue lights flashing, escort world leaders to the NATO summit. They reaffirm their commitment to further investment in weaponry, at the cost of social services, affordable housing and climate action. As I am driven away, I look out of the window, and a Maersk truck drives by on the highway. I start thinking about what we’ll do next.