The blue container ship HMM Algeciras on the Elbe in Hamburg seen from the water with a tugboat in the foreground and harbour cranes in the background
Above water

A reliable port infrastructure - also in the future

The Port of Hamburg is Germany’s most important seaport and is vital for meeting the basic needs of the population and supporting the German export industry. Through our underwater sediment management programme, we ensure that the port remains accessible and competitive, and continues to develop.

The Port of Hamburg: Connected worldwide by shipping lines

A world map shows how many shipping lines connect Hamburg with federal states and regions around the world
Hamburg shipping lines: In the Port of Hamburg Linerservice (click on the map) you will find all regular connections of the Port of Hamburg in intercontinental maritime traffic as well as in European feeder and short-sea traffic. The numbers in the red cluster circles indicate the number of connections in the respective area.

 

The Port of Hamburg  is an important hub in the global network of goods flows. Around 100 liner services connect the Hanseatic city with the majority of the world's more than 1000 seaports. Around 7000 seagoing vessels come to the Port of Hamburg every year. One of the main markets is Asia: in 2023, Hamburg was called at by an average of 17 full-container Asia services per week. In addition, there were 28 liner services to Northern Europe, 22 to Africa, 13 to the Red Sea / Arabian Gulf, 13 to South America, 10 to North America and 12 to Central America, as well as various direct connections to other trade lanes, including India/Pakistan, Central America/Caribbean and Australia/Pacific.

 

In view of this global network, it is crucial that ships can call at the port safely at all times. This is precisely where our task as the HPA comes in: ensuring the port infrastructure and navigability of the waterways in the long term.

View over the deck of a hopper dredger with pipes and yellow cranes, in the background harbour basin and terminals with cars and container gantry cranes
For us, ensuring the accessibility of the Port of Hamburg means reacting flexibly and planning ahead, reducing sediment volumes and improving sediment quality.
A man sits in front of four monitors on the bridge of a hopper dredger and monitors the pumps and the dredging process
When we make a harbour basin entrance deep again, ship captains all over the world will know shortly afterwards. This is because the navigability of the Port of Hamburg is documented online on electronic nautical charts.

Our task as HPA: Shaping and promoting the development of the Port of Hamburg

As an institution under public law, affiliated with the Hamburg Ministry of Economics and Innovation, our almost 2,000 employees are responsible for the maintenance and development of the port infrastructure in Hamburg. Our port management also includes water depth maintenance, through which we ensure access to the port via the waterway.
 
When the Elbe current sediments accumulate at the bottom of the waterway and the water is no longer deep enough for the ships, we ensure free shipping traffic again in Hamburg with targeted underwater dredging work.

Fields of action for sediment management

Our flexible sediment management comprises three important areas of work:

Maintenance: This includes the maintenance and upkeep of waterways and harbour basins through continuous surveys of the waterway bottom, sampling and analysis of sediments, dredging and transport of excess sediment as well as the environmentally friendly relocation of sediments. The excess dredged material is relocated to suitable locations in the watercourse or relocated to land for treatment and disposal.

Remediation: In order to further improve the sediment quality and thus expand the possibilities for resource-conserving handling of dredged material, we are committed to the remediation of pollutant sources on the upper Elbe. At the same time, for almost 30 years we have been relieving the Elbe and North Sea of pollutants that predominantly do not originate in Hamburg by extracting, treating and disposing of contaminated used sediments on land on a large scale.

River engineering: River engineering measures that influence currents, such as the creation of shallow water areas, are suitable for reducing sedimentation in principle. The approximately 30-hectare shallow water area Kreetsand has now been completed. It is a new, natural flooding area that is intended to reduce the accumulation of sediment in Hamburg's harbour area to a certain extent.

Our overall strategy shows how all three areas of work interact and what else is needed to keep the harbour at depth in the long term.

 

Acting flexibly in a changing environment

 

In order to fulfil our tasks for the international seaport of Hamburg well under water, we have to react very flexibly and with foresight to the constantly changing boundary conditions such as currents, tides, discharge volumes or nautical requirements with our sediment management. This is why we have developed a flexible management system for water depth maintenance, which sets out the guidelines for our actions. There are three fundamental objectives that are permanent: the greatest possible reduction in the amount of sediment that we have to dredge in Hamburg every year (volume reduction), responsible use of our taxpayers' money (cost efficiency) and a good and legally compliant balance between economic utilisation and preservation of the natural environment (environmental protection).

 

 

FAQ on infrastructure and shipping traffic in the Port of Hamburg

The most important questions and answers at a glance.

 

The Port of Hamburg is Germany's largest seaport and a central hub for international shipping traffic. Around 100 liner services connect Hamburg with over 1000 seaports worldwide.

 

 

Around 7000 ocean-going vessels call at the port every year. All liner services can be viewed online at the Port of Hamburg Linerservice - for Hamburg's global shipping traffic.

 

 

With our sediment management, we ensure that the waterways remain navigable at all times - a basic requirement for shipping traffic in the Port of Hamburg.

 

 

Three fields of action:

  1. Maintenance: Maintenance of waterways, dredging and relocation of sediments.
  2. Remediation: Improvement of sediment quality and removal of contaminated old sediments.
  3. River engineering: Measures such as shallow water areas to reduce sediment formation.

 

 

 

The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) with over 2,100 employees is responsible for the maintenance and development of the port infrastructure - and therefore also for safe shipping traffic in the Port of Hamburg.

 

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