Port of Hamburg expects positive Elbe dredging judgment before January

Time:2016-11-23 Browse:111 Author:RISINGSUN
THE Port of Hamburg Marketing told London`s Loadstar that "it hoped to hear a positive decision" from the German Federal Court on a dredging of the River Elbe before the end of the year.

This would enable work to start as soon as possible next year, said the report.

It has been calculated that the deepening of the Lower and Outer Elbe would enable ships to load another 1,800 TEU per call.

Approval of the project, which also includes a 385-metre wide passing point for vessels, has long been considered essential for the growth of the port.

The number of 14,000-19,000 TEU vessels calling at Hamburg has doubled from 88 ships in the first nine months of 2015, to 163 vessels in the same period this year.

This is taken as evidence that ocean carriers continue to value a direct call at the port and are prepared to work in the interim with loading restrictions, as long as the Elbe deepening project eventually comes to fruition.

For the first nine months Hamburg volume stood at 9.3 million TEU, while rival Rotterdam has posted 9.3 million TEU and Antwerp came in at 7.5 million TEU in the same period.

In the case of Rotterdam this represented flat growth, where a strong third-quarter recovery made up for losses in the first half, while Antwerp recorded a four per cent year-on-year increase, after the rapid 7.5 per cent expansion in 2015.