Inland Shipping in the Elbe River Area Has Strategic Importance

At the Elbe Shipping Day 2022 organized by the Elbe Alliance, experts emphasized the importance of expanding the Elbe’s infrastructure for the future of inland shipping.

(Hamburg) The Elbe Shipping Day in Hamburg clearly demonstrated that the Elbe is an important transport artery for Hamburg and all neighboring regions. In his opening speech, the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Dr. Peter Tschentscher, pointed out the significance of the Elbe for the Hanseatic city: “Hamburg is the largest inland port in the Elbe river area. The Elbe has always secured the economic strength and prosperity of our city. It connects us not only with the major seaports of the world but also with many cities and regions in the hinterland. Inland shipping is a vital pillar of freight transport in Europe. It is powerful and significantly more environmentally and climate-friendly compared to truck transport. In addition to road and rail routes, the expansion and renovation of infrastructure for inland shipping are among the major projects for the modernization of Germany.” To highlight the attractiveness of inland shipping, Hamburg is supporting it with an image film, the premiere of which Dr. Tschentscher launched at the Old Main Customs Office in front of around 100 experts from business, politics, and administration.

Infrastructure Expansion Necessary

However, it is urgently necessary to improve the infrastructure both on the Elbe and in the Elbe side canal. “In recent years, a significant backlog in modernization has developed. Key issues include the bottleneck at the Scharnebeck ship lift, whose dimensions do not allow for navigation by large inland vessels, as well as the overall Elbe concept, which aims to ecologically address nautical weaknesses,” emphasized Stefan Kunze, Chairman of the Elbe Alliance e.V., at the Elbe Shipping Day.

Political Support from the Federal Ministry

The commitment of the federal government as the owner of the waterways was underscored by Daniela Kluckert, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, in her opening remarks. “Our waterways are part of our strong economic power and represent an essential foundation for action for the federal and state governments. The Elbe makes a significant contribution to environmentally friendly freight transport and therefore offers great potential for improving the CO2 balance in the transport sector. Our goal is to strengthen the special economic and socio-political significance of the waterways and inland shipping in Germany and to continue to ensure reliable, more efficient, and safe shipping conditions.”

In two panels, logistics experts discussed both the necessity and possibilities for shifting transport to ensure the supply of the economy in the Elbe river area, as well as concrete solutions for modern inland shipping.

Important Connection to the Czech Republic

In light of the changing traffic flows due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Czech Deputy Minister of Transport Václav Bernard explained the expected goods flows on the Elbe. “Two million tons of coal and ore are needed for steel producers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. These were previously transported by rail from Russia and Ukraine. Replacement deliveries must now be imported through seaports,” said Bernard. The rail corridors are already very well utilized today, so the only alternative, if significant environmental burdens are not to be accepted, can only be inland shipping. “Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the implementation of the overall Elbe concept, especially the elimination of nautical weaknesses,” emphasized Bernard. In the Czech Republic, work is already underway at full speed on this. In addition to the quantities from the mentioned shift, there is also significant interest from the Czech economy in utilizing the Elbe as the only access to global maritime traffic.

In the subsequent discussion panel, it was debated how the waterways in the Elbe river area can meet their strategic importance. The ecological aspects must not be overlooked, emphasized Dr. Rocco Buchta, NABU (Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union) Germany. “However, one should consider what small-scale measures can be taken to quickly improve shipping conditions,” Buchta suggested, promising professional support from NABU in the planning process.

Impulse Lecture by Björn Pistol

In addition to infrastructure, a modern and efficient mode of transport, inland shipping, is a prerequisite for better integration into logistics chains. In his impulse lecture, Björn Pistol from Hamburg Port Authority AöR (HPA) emphasized the importance of inland shipping for the Port of Hamburg. He presented various measures with which the HPA supports businesses in the port. The Port of Hamburg aims to remain a strong partner in the waterway system. According to Björn Pistol, the HPA intends to meet this desire by providing transparent nautical and traffic information and ensuring short transport routes. To give the waterway system the necessary boost in innovation, digital and automated innovations in inland shipping are being supported, and a technology-open infrastructure for climate-friendly transport is being gradually created. In the subsequent discussion panel, individual aspects—from digitization to the optimization of logistics processes to modern drive and control concepts for inland vessels—were presented and discussed.

The Elbe Alliance e.V. organizes the Elbe Shipping Day. The association advocates for the preservation and expansion of the strategically important transport infrastructure in the Elbe river area and aims to strengthen the mode of transport inland shipping. “The Elbe Shipping Day 2022 provided many suggestions for further work to improve the situation of inland shipping in the Elbe river area and to implement the overall Elbe concept. A success review will take place at the Elbe Shipping Day 2024,” said association chairman Kunze.

Photo: © HHM / Image caption: Dr. Peter Tschentscher (4th from left), discussed among others Stefan Kunze (5th from left), Chairman of the Elbe Alliance e.V., Daniela Kluckert (4th from right), State Secretary at the Federal Minister for Digital and Transport, and Czech Deputy Minister of Transport Václav Bernard (3rd from right) about inland shipping in the Elbe river area.