The situation in the Europoort region has changed markedly in the past ten years. Vast extensions of the harbour areas have been completed, partly by reclaiming land from the North Sea. The new entrance to the river is more than 3 km. further to seaward, and inside this entrance there are now separate entrances to the Rotterdam Waterway and to Europoort (Caland Canal). The number and size of ships visiting the port of Rotterdam has also increased and very large crude carriers and fast container ships are now regular visitors. For these VLCC's, with a draught of up to 65 ft., special fairways have been dredged and are in full use.