port on the southwestern coast of The Netherlands. It lies opposite the Hoek van Holland, at the entrance of the New Waterway Canal, a distributary of the Rhine. About 17 miles (27 km) upstream on the canal lies the Port of Rotterdam, for which Europoort functions as an outport. Together they form the largest port in the world. Europoort is one of the most modern ports in the world; its construction was begun in 1958. It consists of industrial sites and harbour basins, and it handles vessels too large to reach Rotterdam, including oil tankers and iron-ore bulk carriers. Europoort has facilities for storing oil, iron ore, grain, and automobiles, and also has petrochemical and other chemical plants.