Nieuwe Waterweg
51°56′31″N 4°11′29″E / 51.94194°N 4.19139°E
| Nieuwe Waterweg New Waterway | |
|---|---|
Location of Nieuwe Waterweg (including Het Scheur) in dark blue. | |
| Location | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | South Holland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Nieuwe Maas |
| • location | Maassluis |
| Mouth | Maasmond |
• location | Hook of Holland |
| Length | 20 km (12 mi) |
The Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway") is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland: the Maasmond, where the Nieuwe Waterweg connects to the Maasgeul. It is the artificial mouth of the river Rhine.
The Nieuwe Waterweg, which opened in 1872 and has a length of approximately 20.5 kilometres (12.7 mi), was constructed to keep the city and port of Rotterdam accessible to seafaring vessels as the natural Meuse-Rhine branches silted up. The Waterway is a busy shipping route since it is the primary access to one of the busiest ports in the world, the Port of Rotterdam. At the entrance to the sea, a flood protection system called Maeslantkering has been installed (completed in 1997). There are no bridges or tunnels across the Nieuwe Waterweg.