The Port of Hamburg

Ports are found on rivers or by the sea. Large and small ships travel between ports. The places where ships berth are called quays. At a quay, vertical walls extend deep into the water. Bollards and rings are attached to them. In nautical terms, ships are said to “tie up” there.

A port has facilities such as cranes, railway lines, roads and storage areas for goods. A port on a river is called an inland port, and the ships that dock there are usually inland vessels. Hamburg’s port is also on a river—the Elbe, which flows into the North Sea. The port is about 100 kilometres from the sea, yet large seagoing ships dock there.

Between Hamburg and the North Sea, the Elbe is wide and deep. The ebb and flow of the tides cause the river's water level to rise and fall. Ships traveling between the port and the North Sea are guided by pilots, who know the conditions on the Elbe and in the port particularly well.

Hamburg grew from a small settlement that developed around Hammaburg, built about 1,300 years ago. Over the course of many centuries, Hamburg became Germany's second-largest city. Every year, Hamburg celebrates its port anniversary. The celebration commemorates the day Emperor Frederick Barbarossa gave the citizens of Hamburg permission, on May 7, 1189, to sail from Hamburg to the North Sea without paying customs duties.

The Hanseatic League emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was an alliance of cities whose merchants traded with one another. They agreed on rules, protected themselves against pirates and grew rich in the process. During the Hanseatic period, Hamburg became a very wealthy city. Even today, it proudly calls itself a Hanseatic city.

Over this long period, an extensive network of port facilities was built. Today, there are thirteen different harbor basins alone, with quays where ships can dock. There are also four terminals for container ships. There are three berths for cruise ships, as well as two piers for ships carrying other passengers.

The port has around 320 berths for seagoing vessels. The total length of its quays is 43 kilometres. There are 137 kilometres of roads and 314 kilometres of railway tracks throughout the port area. It has three road and pedestrian tunnels and 147 bridges. The port covers just over 72 square kilometres, making it almost three times the size of the island of Norderney.

Ships transport bulk cargo and general cargo. Bulk cargo includes ore, coal, building materials, grain, fertiliser, oil and petroleum products. Perishable goods such as bananas are transported in refrigerated ships. Cars are carried on specialised ships that can hold several thousand vehicles at a time. Specialised tankers can carry large quantities of gas.

Most goods are now transported in containers. These are closed steel boxes with a solid floor. One commonly used container is the 20-foot container. Its dimensions are standard worldwide and are based on the English system of measurement. A 20-foot container is exactly 605.8 centimetres long, 243.8 centimetres wide and 259.1 centimetres high. Containers can be used to transport all kinds of things, such as computers and mobile phones, toys and glassware, textiles and televisions. Since freight consists of individual items of different sizes, it is known as general cargo.

Containers are very sturdy and can be stacked on top of one another. They can be transported by sea, but also on inland waterways, by truck or by rail.

The Port of Hamburg is the largest port in Germany and the third largest in Europe. Only Rotterdam and Antwerp handle more cargo. Rotterdam is in the Netherlands, and Antwerp is in Belgium.

A ship’s cargo is measured in tonnes. One tonne is equal to 1,000 kilograms. If the children in a class weigh an average of 40 kilograms, then 25 children weigh one tonne. A fully grown elephant weighs about 5 tonnes.

This is what it was like at the Port of Hamburg in 2021: 7,371 ships called at the port to unload and reload cargo. A total of 128.7 million tonnes of seaborne goods were “handled”.  On average, each ship carried a load of 17,460 tonnes. Try working out how many children or elephants could fit on a ship like that.

The largest ship to call at the Port of Hamburg was the “Ever Ace”. This ship can carry almost 24,000 containers. It is 400 metres long and 61.5 metres wide. At sea, it can reach a top speed of 22.6 knots, almost 42 kilometres per hour.

The "Ever Ace" draws up to 14.50 metres of water. That is no problem at sea, but it is on the Elbe. The shipping channel is the part of the river where ships travel. Two hundred years ago, the river was only 3 to 4 metres deep. Since then, the channel has been deepened several times. A further deepening project was completed in 2021. At its deepest point, between Otterndorf and Lühe, the Elbe is now 19 metres deep; at Hamburg-Altenwerder, it is 17.40 metres deep. The shipping channel was also widened so that two large ships can pass each other.

Environmentalists opposed the project. Dredging sucks up crustaceans, worms, snails and mussels. The banks had to be reinforced at narrow points and bends in the river, destroying valuable natural habitats.

What’s more, each high tide in the North Sea now pushes more water into the Elbe. Deposits and silt from the North Sea enter the river and its tributaries. At low tide, however, the water flows away more slowly, and the silt is no longer carried away.

As a result, shallow areas along the banks and side channels become silted up and dry out. Yet many species search for food in precisely these areas. More salty seawater also flows into the Elbe, harming many animals and plants.