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28. August 2021To recognize the opportunities of environmentally friendly inland shipping and to exploit potentials, Hafen Hamburg Marketing (HHM) has commissioned a study together with the Elbe-Seitenkanal Alliance (BESK) and the Elbe Alliance (EA) to determine the system character of the inland waterway network in northern and northeastern Germany.
(Hamburg) Inland shipping also plays an important role for the hinterland traffic of the Port of Hamburg. During a live-streamed online press conference, the results of the market analyses were discussed yesterday, and recommendations for action were established.
“The importance of inland ports and inland shipping is hardly recognized or is insufficiently emphasized and must be highlighted more clearly,” appeals Gunnar Platz, Planco. “It must be made clear that for the regional economy, in most cases, there is no alternative to inland shipping. A failure of inland shipping would lead to supply shortages and job losses in the region,” emphasizes Platz. For the Port of Lüneburg, for example, it was determined that 4,600 jobs directly and indirectly depend on the port. In 2020, around 340,000 tons were handled in Lüneburg, which corresponds to 13 employees per 1,000 tons handled. In addition, the 14.4 million tons of goods currently transported by inland ship in the seaport hinterland traffic could not be caught by other modes of transport. These figures underscore the importance of waterways and especially highlight that investments in the maintenance and expansion of waterways are essential for the region.
Numerous Repair Measures
To ensure transport by inland ship in the region, numerous repair measures on the infrastructure must be carried out in the coming years. Bottlenecks, such as the Schiffshebewerk Scharnebeck or gaps in the Elbe, are already being renewed or eliminated with the implementation of the overall concept Elbe (GKE) to increase the capacity and thus the economic efficiency and competitiveness of inland shipping in the future. “The study impressively shows the potential that inland shipping has in Northern Germany. However, we must invest massively in infrastructure and renovate or rebuild our structures to sustainably tap these potentials,” confirms Tobias Siewert, BESK. “With the new lock in Lüneburg, we can initiate a noticeable shift towards waterways. However, it is also clear that planning and construction phases must be accelerated.”
Shift Potentials in Bulk Goods Sector
These shift potentials are particularly visible in the bulk goods sector. In the Magdeburg/Braunschweig metropolitan area, for example, around 6 million tons of iron ore and 2.1 million tons of coal are imported via Hamburg by rail. In container traffic, Stefan Kunze, HHM, also sees great potential: In the Braunschweig/Wolfsburg metropolitan area, around 55,000 TEU are transported by truck each year, and another 50,000 TEU in the Magdeburg area. “Parts of these quantities could be easily absorbed by inland shipping,” he explains. In addition, the GKE will secure the possibility of three-layer container traffic to Riesa in the future, the connection of ports like Wittenberge, and the recovery of market shares in traffic above Magdeburg. These shift potentials are particularly relevant in light of the climate goals of the European Union and Germany.
The inland ship is by far the most environmentally friendly mode of transport. Therefore, for example, the reduction of air pollutants can be highlighted as an investment incentive, explains Platz. “Digitalization in inland shipping should also be consistently advanced,” says Platz. In this way, better route planning can be implemented and a more accurate estimated time of arrival (ETA) can be determined. Information chains between seaports and inland ports could also be optimized. This, in turn, would strengthen the competitiveness of inland shipping in the region compared to other modes of transport.
Making Potentials Visible
The inland ports in the region secure employment and value creation, and transport via waterways is environmentally friendly and economical. This has been shown by the joint study. Now it is important to address the identified challenges and tap potentials. “For this, they must be made visible, incentives for investments created, and framework conditions improved,” summarizes Sebastian Poser, EA. “We need to raise awareness of inland shipping both in the market and in politics.” The project partners are determined to promote inland shipping in the region with the help of these insights and to prepare it for the future. “Both the ports and the shipping economy in the region benefit from more inland shipping,” sums up Tobias Siewert.
The entire study can be downloaded from our website starting September 6, 2021. More details on inland shipping as well as the recording of the event and the presentation charts:
Photo: © Hafen Hamburg
