The changes will come into effect on 17 November 2026. For non-tidal container ships up to 350 metres in length and 46 metres in width, the Tideelbe can now be navigated with a draught of 13.80 metres, thereby achieving the development objective of the fairway upgrade.

There will also be further improvements for vessels that operate in accordance with the tide, compared with the existing tidal timetable. The tidal timetable sets out the precise details for the individual classes of vessel.

In addition to these improvements in draughts, the aim remains to further optimise traffic flow management and gradually increase the efficiency of traffic on the Tideelbe: Following the authorisation in spring 2026 of combined vessel widths of up to 110 m on the passing channel off Wedel, the second test phase has been underway since 1 April 2026 with a view to permanently increasing this to 115.50 m initially. Further test phases are planned in stages thereafter.

Source: GDWS

Under the title “Germany’s economic backbone: Why efficient ports are indispensable”, representatives from industry, commerce, politics and the port sector came together to share their perspectives. They were represented by Gunnar Groebler, Chief Executive of Salzgitter AG; Friedrich Fuchs, Chairman of the Management Board of Lidl Germany; Christian Hirte, Member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Transport; and Tino Klemm, Chief Financial Officer of the Hamburg Port Authority AöR and representative of the German Ports Alliance. The focus was on the importance of efficient ports for reliable supply chains, a secure supply of goods and Germany’s international competitiveness.

Speaking on behalf of the German Ports Alliance, Tino Klemm stated: “We need a national port partnership involving the federal government, the federal states and port locations that pools responsibility, sets clear priorities and secures the necessary investment in port infrastructure in the long term.”

Across four interactive discussion areas, participants debated security of supply, resilient supply chains, value creation and the future of German ports. It became clear that port infrastructure, roads, railways and waterways must be expanded in line with demand and maintained at a high level of performance in the long term. This is because ports are not only indispensable for industry, trade and supply, but are also of strategic importance for Germany’s security.

Gunnar Groebler, Chief Executive of Salzgitter AG, emphasised: “We regard energy networks as national infrastructure. We should therefore also treat our ports as what they are: strategic infrastructure of national interest.”

There was also consensus in the concluding panel discussion with Gunnar Groebler, Christian Hirte and Tino Klemm: to ensure resilient supply chains and make port infrastructure fit for the future, we need to pick up the pace and see close cooperation between politicians, industry and the port sector.

The German Ports Alliance is therefore calling for the future of ports to be made a shared political priority. Ports are not a regional concern, but a national responsibility and an essential foundation for security of supply, competitiveness and industrial value creation in Germany.

In general, there is a close link between the Elbe’s discharge and sedimentation in Hamburg: the less water that flows down the Elbe, the more sand and mud is deposited in Hamburg, and the more dredging is required. The reason for this is a phenomenon known as ‘tidal pumping’, whereby the stronger incoming tide ‘pumps’ more silty material upstream than is carried back downstream by the ebb tide. 

However, in recent years it has become apparent that sediment management itself also has a significant influence on sedimentation. If the dredged material is relocated just a few kilometres downstream – to Neßsand or St Margarethen, for example – the mud often returns after only a few weeks and has to be dredged again. However, if the dredged material is consistently relocated far enough downstream – that is, into the Elbe estuary or the North Sea – it does not return. And that is precisely what we have done.

Through consistent relocation of increased volumes at Tonne E3 and the reduction in circular dredging at Neßsand, we have been able to halve the total dredging volumes in recent years. From almost 6 million tonnes in 2021 to around 2.8 million tonnes in 2024 and 2025. We do not yet know for certain whether we will be able to maintain this level this year. But the late start to the season shows that our strategy is working, even in extremely dry years.

We’ve put together a video showing how a journey with the hopper dredger to buoy E3 works

The monitoring programme, its documentation and the evaluation of the results are overseen by specialist working groups comprising representatives from the WSV, the HPA and neighbouring countries. The agreed duration of the data retention period is 12 years following the completion of construction works in 2021. Reports describing the trends in the data are to be produced every three years. 

The first report, including numerous appendices, can be found on the ‘Portal Tideelbe’ website at https://www.portaltideelbe.de/fap2019-bs or https://www.portaltideelbe.de/fap2019-bs-bericht-2025. The report covers, on the one hand, the initial findings regarding evidence preservation for the period 2022 to 2024, and on the other hand, it also addresses the construction phase of the fairway upgrade project between 2019 and 2021. The hydraulic engineering works, the mitigation measures and the supplementary construction works are documented in detail in this report.