Fleet Hamburg Receives Its Own State-of-the-Art Dredger

Dredgers play an important role in maintaining water depth in the Port of Hamburg. They pull sediments into areas where they can then be easily picked up by suction dredgers. The new dredger “Chicago” of Fleet Hamburg, a 100% subsidiary of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), was ceremoniously christened today by U.S. Ambassador Dr. Amy Gutmann at the Overseas Bridge. The ship’s name continues the naming series “Hamburg’s Partner Cities” of Fleet Hamburg.

(Hamburg) “With the commissioning of the ‘Chicago’, Fleet Hamburg now has its own state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly dredger. The ‘Chicago’ was built at the Hitzler shipyard in Lauenburg. Its construction time was 24 months,” says Karsten Schönewald, Managing Director of Fleet Hamburg. Fleet Hamburg already operates a smaller dredging device, the ‘Otto Stockhausen’. In the future, the ‘Chicago’ will cover the majority of underwater dredging work in the Port of Hamburg. The construction costs amounted to 7 million euros.

Hamburg’s First Mayor, Dr. Peter Tschentscher: “The ‘Chicago’ ensures free passage in the port, allowing even large container ships to always have a handbreadth of water under their keel. It symbolizes the commonalities between Hamburg and Chicago as trading centers by the water, which have been connected through a city partnership for about 30 years. With the sponsorship of U.S. Ambassador Amy Gutmann, we are sending a signal for German-American friendship. When the ‘Chicago’ is on the move in the port, it conveys the spirit of connection with our partner in the USA.”

“The ‘Chicago’ is part of Fleet Hamburg’s sustainable strategy,” says Jens Meier, CEO of HPA. “The new ship will not only be very powerful with its hybrid drive but also exceptionally environmentally friendly.”

Specifications of the ‘Chicago’

• – Crew: 2 persons
• – Dimensions: 25 m long, 8.5 m wide
• – Draft: 2.6 m
• – Hybrid drive (mechanical and electric drive)
• – Speed: max. 10 knots
• – Fully electric operating time: 120 min at 6 knots
• – Construction costs: 7 million EUR
• – Construction time: 24 months

About the Partner Cities

The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has nine partner cities with which it maintains special relationships as the “Gateway to the World”: Chicago, Dar es Salaam, Dresden, Léon, Marseille, Osaka, Prague, Shanghai, and St. Petersburg.

Photo: © HHM / Haßkamp / Caption: The christening was celebrated by: Almut Möller, State Councillor in Hamburg, Jason Chue, U.S. Consul General in Hamburg, Jens Meier, Managing Director of HPA, Dr. Amy Gutmann, U.S. Ambassador to Germany, and Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.