The Port of Hamburg has completed and made available to
ships an expansion of the waterway along the Elbe River connecting Hamburg to
the North Sea at Cuxhaven. Port officials are calling the project a major
enhancement to the port’s capabilities, permitting it to handle larger vessels
as well improve the management of ships along the river and enhance safety
during the passage between the sea and the port.
The dredging and widening of the river were undertaken in
phases with the second stage of the expansion project being released this week
for the movement of ships. The dredging and widening of the river were
completed in the spring of 2021. The project added between three and six feet
of additional draft capacity for ships both inbound and outbound regardless of
the tide on the river.
“We are delighted that following years of intensive
planning, completion of the mega-project ‘fairway adjustment’ has been
accomplished,” said Jens Meier, CEO of Hamburg Port Authority. They highlighted
that before the project, the maximum draft was 37 feet and now with a favorable
tide they can handle vessels up to 50.5 feet.
For containerships calling at the Port of Hamburg, they will
now be able to handle vessels with approximately a 44-foot draft regardless of
the tide conditions. The widening of the river also means that they can now
accommodate a vessel with maximum dimensions of 1,312 feet in length and a
205-foot beam.
Citing data from May to December 2021, they reported that
2,377 containerships called at the Port of Hamburg. A total of 666 had a design
draft of greater than 45 feet and 96 of them had a draft that could not be
accommodated without the deepening of the river.
“For Germany’s largest port, it means improved access
conditions that will enable shipping companies to bring more cargo to Hamburg,”
said Michael Westhagemann, Hamburg’s Minister of Economics. He expects that
large containerships will be able to transport approximately 1,800 additional
TEU to and from Hamburg. He also noted that large bulk carriers and cruise
ships would also benefit from the improvements along the river.
In addition to the deepening of the river to accommodate
greater drafts, sections of the river were also widened to provide greater
navigational advantages. For example, one of the passing zones on the river was
extended by nearly five miles. Places along the river can now accommodate two
vessels passing with a total width of up to 341 feet.
They predicted that the new capabilities would make it
possible to improve the utilization of the port while also optimizing Elbe
passage planning for vessels.