Elbe News

The first vessel carrying LNG for Germany's Baltic Sea terminal of Mukran arrived on Saturday for a test operation as the country steps up its quest to replace Russian pipeline gas.Private company Deutsche ReGas said that Energos Power, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), had moored at the terminal on Ruegen Island, having received approval from local authorities.Germany has intensified its quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores, as European countries seek to reduce their heavy reliance on Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.The tests will

German utility RWE on Jan. 1 handed over floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure at Brunsbuettel on the North Sea to state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) as agreed when first imports arrived 10 months ago, it said.DET is now the sole operational manager and markets the capacity of the Brunsbuettel Elbehafen LNG project.Germany's quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores has intensified as it seeks to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas…

Sanmar’s Altinova Shipyard held a christening ceremony last Saturday for a powerful new harbour tug destined to work for German operator H. Schramm Towage.Lara König, took on the honorary role of godmother to the new tug, which is named Bo after her two-year-old son, who is the godchild of SCHRAMM group owner Hans-Helmut Schramm.Bo is based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar TRAktor-Z 2500SX design from Canadian naval architects Robert Allan, part of the Turkish tug and workboat builder’s Deliçay series.Powered by two high-speed…

Germany's emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Elbe river port of Stade expects its floating regasification vessel (FSRU) to arrive in February, allowing seaborne gas cargoes to be fed into local pipeline grids, its management said on Wednesday.The move is part of Germany's quest to increase LNG import capacity so it can end reliance on Russian pipeline gas, which Europe has heavily depended on prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year."The Transgas Force (the designated ship) is anticipated to arrive in February and will remain for three years, ahead of the commissioning

A 112-year-old tall ship has toppled over during a drydock maintenance period in South Africa.The Netherlands-registered Europa fell over during an attempt to transfer the steel-hulled barque back into the water from drydock at a Cape Town ship repair facility, leaving one crewmember with minor injuries."The injured sailor is receiving the necessary medical care and is doing well, given the circumstances," the ship's operator Bark Europa said. "He is currently in stable condition…

A German government-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Mukran on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea, near existing LNG reception facilities delivering into the mainland port of Lubmin, will be downsized.The quest for alternative imports intensified as the country sought to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.Apart from gas, industry and the government are anticipating increased use of hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Germany's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Stade said it would in the coming weeks begin testing market appetite for ammonia as a way to transport hydrogen, as the country's efforts to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas gather pace.The quest for alternatives has included focusing on hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany, however, would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) has closed the port to large ships because of a strike announced by the Verdi union over wages, it said on Wednesday."Due to the massive restrictions to be expected from the announced warning strikes, the administration has decided to block the Elbe for ships requiring pilotage from around 10 a.m. today until further notice," a spokesperson for HPA said.From 5.30 p.m. (1630 GMT) onwards, such ships will no longer be able to leave the port because the crews of boats that bring pilots on board container ships are taking part in the protests…

Danfoss Power Solutions said its Editron division has been chosen to provide drivetrain systems for three hybrid passenger ferries that will operate on the Elbe River in Hamburg, Germany. German shipyard Schiffbau- u. Entwicklungsgesellschaft Tangermünde mbH (SET) will build the vessels for Hamburg transportation company HADAG, expanding its fleet to 29 ships.Hamburg’s passenger ferry service is integral to its public transportation offering. With eight routes stopping at 20 different piers, the ferries are used by approximately 9 million passengers annually.

When it came time to replace their 50-year-old station vessel New York, the Sandy Hook Pilots Association thought long and hard, weighing their options to determine the best possible solution. They traveled the country, to Houston, San Francisco and up to the Columbia River, and even to Europe—the Elbe River in Germany and Rotterdam in the Netherlands—to ride with other pilots in search of an answer.“We looked at everything from SWATH (small-waterplane-area twin hull) boats to helicopters to big boats in Europe…

The two new fire boats of the Flotte Hamburg were ceremonially christened Dresden and Prag on September 23 by their two sponsors, Dresden's Second Mayor Annekatrin Klepsch and Prague's City Councillor for Culture Hana Třeštíková. In the presence of Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and CEO of Hamburg Port Authority Jens Meier, the ships then went on a short sea trial in the Port of Hamburg.Mayor Dr. Peter Tschentscher said, "The new fire boats Prag and Dresden ensure safety in the port and can run emission-free with their plug-in hybrid drives.

French shipping startup NEOLINE confirmed it has chosen NEOPOLIA Mobility and signed an LOI for the construction of its first 136-meter sailing cargo ship following a new international tender.The project is now in the financial closure phase with the objective of starting construction this Summer, aiming for a commissioning in the first half of 2024, NEOLINE said.NEOLINE's decision to select the offer of the Loire-based company Neopolia Mobility comes at the end of a second international…

Port of Hamburg announced that mega-ships will from now on find it easy to pass through the Elbe fairway.Vessels with a combined width of up to 98 meters can now pass each other in a widened section of the Elbe in Germany known as the “passing box.” The five-kilometer stretch now has a width of 385 meters, said the Port of Hamburg.“With the initial fairway widenings of the Elbe, meanwhile completed, we are on a good course, immediately improving the conditions for calls by mega-ships,” said Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. “For shipping and our port customers, this is really gratifying news for the start of the year.” The holding area at Brunsbüttel has also been completed.

Germany's largest port, the Port of Hamburg not expecting reduction in container throughput caused by liner service changes announced by Ocean Alliance and Maersk.From April, the Ocean Alliance NEU 5 service handled by EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg – CTH is being transferred to Antwerp, said a press release from the a sea port on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea."This service will be run by the Ocean Alliance Partner, CMA CGM as FAL 3 with an approximate annual volume of 150,000 TEU," it said.Going forward, according to CMA CGM, the entire container volume carried until now to and from Hamburg by this service will be handled by the five Ocean Alliance liner services continuing to call in Hamburg.

German maritime waste specialist Jongen GmbH has taken delivery of a Damen InvaSave 300 mobile ballast water treatment system (BWTS), which will protect the Elbe from invasive Species.Jongen can now offer IMO-certified ballast water treatment services to ship operators needing to comply with the latest ballast water regulations that came into effect on 8 September 2019.Jongen GmbH delivers waste oil, waste water, and the waste removal services for maritime traffic in the Port of Hamburg. The company’s services include the cleaning of the ships’ storage tanks and machinery along with the management and cleaning of oil spills.The addition…

The Port of Hamburg announced that in the course of the Elbe's river dredging, construction stones to improve usability for shipping, were successfully build into the "Medemrinne" and "Neufelder Sand".Specifically from March until October 2019, around 1,200,000 tons were build in the above mentioned underwater deposit areas (UDAs).Machulez KG, a member of the Cuxhaven Port Authority (HWG), coordinated the logistics requirements between the underwater construction companies, the quarry and the locally responsible institutions. Machulez provided its logistics network and portside infrastructure and acted as a base port within the framework…

Port of Hamburg is continuing its dredging projects on the Elbe River as per plan. The second hopper dredger named Bonny River has been conducting dredging operations on the federal stretch and taking the spoil to the UWA - underwater dredged material disposal site at Medemrinne, from October.Built in 2018, the ‘Bonny River’ has a hold capacity of over 16,000 cubic meters; consequently having a highly efficient performance level.The holding area near Brunsbüttel and the widening work on the WSV - federal waterways and shipping stretch are finished. With the widening from 300 to 320 meters from Wedel to down river from the mouth of the River Stör…

In the 2019 first half, 106,000 TEU - 20-ft standard containers - were handled in Hamburg on direct services with Indian ports, a gain of 17 percent. This brought India up into tenth place in Hamburg’s ranking of its trading partners for container transport.With Hapag Lloyd and its partner shipowners ONE, YML and COSCO offering an additional weekly sailing from Hamburg on the IEX - South-East India–Europe Express service from November onwards, the prospects for further growth are good.Ten liner services link the Port of Hamburg with India. Of these, four are container liner services, three are Ro-Ro services transporting vehicles, and three are general cargo services…

Port of Hamburg, Germany’s biggest universal port, said that in the first three months of 2019, at 2.57 million tons, the total quantity of cargo carried by inland waterway craft between the Port of Hamburg and its hinterland achieved double-digit growth of 12.1 percent.One limiting influence on the further development of quantities by inland vessel this year has been the barely navigable River Elbe caused by low water since May.From Stefan Kunze’s point of view; he is head of the Port of Hamburg Representative Office in Dresden, against this backdrop it is difficult to forecast the ongoing development of cargo quantities carried by inland vessels on the Elbe this year.Already last year…

The deepening and fairway widening program on the Elbe River officially launched yesterday (July 23)."The adjustment of the Elbe fairway will offer much better connections between the Port of Hamburg and the global flow of goods," said Dr. Maximilian Rothkopf, Chief Operations Officer of Hapag-Lloyd AG, during a groundbreaking ceremony held today to mark the official start of dredging operations.“Once the relevant work has been completed, the world’s largest container ships will be able to reach the City of Hamburg with virtually no limitations,” Rothkopf said. In addition to container liner shipping companies, he continued, this will ultimately also benefit customers worldwide…

Another milestone for the establishment of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) as marine fuel in Germany has been achieved. Nauticor successfully conducted the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation in a German port. The trailing suction hopper dredger (TSHD) Scheldt River received the low emission fuel from the bunker supply vessel (BSV) Kairos.Today, the world’s largest LNG BSV Kairos conducted the first ship-to-ship bunkering operation in German waters. The vessel, which was christened in Hamburg on February 2019…

Port of Hamburg's Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC) is developing a digital platform for inland waterway vessels, to allow ship calls to be coordinated centrally in the future."This marks another step towards more efficient digitised processes in the Port of Hamburg. The concept will first be presented to a wider audience today, 8 May, in connection with the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the HVCC," said a release from the port.The Port of Hamburg is not only the largest seaport in Germany – it is also the second-largest inland port. Around 10,000 inland waterway vessels call each year the handling facilities of the Elbe metropolis.For ten years…

Germany’s largest universal port Port of Hamburg remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1% advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019."Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling," said a press release from the third-busiest port in Europe.The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons.The 7.5 percent increase in container handling to 4.7 million TEU is primarily attributable to the four new liner services that have linked the Hanseatic City with ports in the USA…