Hamburg Harbor News

As part of the international trade conference "Making LNG Happen: Combining Forces for Sustainable Shipping," 80 representatives from the fields of business, politics and science visited the cruise ship AIDAprima in Rotterdam on Thursday, January 26, 2017. The guests included Dirk Brengelmann, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Netherlands and his Norwegian colleague Martin Sørby. Hosting the event onboard AIDAprima was symbolic and significant, AIDAprima was the first cruise ship in the world that uses a dual-fuel engine to produce its energy from LNG while docked at port.

AIDA Cruises will help the Port of Hamburg ring in its 827th anniversary with the christening if its new flagship, AIDAprima. AIDA Cruises will christen its 11th ship, AIDAprima, in Hamburg on May 7, 2016 as part of the celebrations for the 827th Hamburg Port Anniversary. From April 30, 2016, Hamburg will be the home port for AIDAprima’s seven-day round trips to Western Europe metropolises such as London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. “With AIDAprima, we are opening a new chapter in the history of the cruise industry,” said Felix Eichhorn, President AIDA Cruises.

URAG has taken delivery of two ASD 2411 Tugs to add to its existing fleet. Named Brake and Perfect, the new vessels have joined their sister ship Prompt in the port of Hamburg under the URAG subsidiary Lutgens und Reimers (L&R). The order for the tugs was placed in September 2014 and work began immediately on the twin vessels at the Damen’s partner yard Song Thu (Da Nang) in Vietnam. Like the Prompt, the two new ASD 2411 tugs feature excellent maneuverability and towing capabilities with a bollard pull of 70 metric tons.

Three Chinese naval vessels with 800 sailors docked in Germany’s Hamburg harbor for the first time in history on Monday, Michael Setzer, the Commander of Hamburg’s Military Liaison Office, said. The dock landing ship, Chang Beishan, the frigate Yun Cheng and the supply ship Chao Hu were due to stay in the harbor until Saturday. Setzer expects the visit to foster mutual cultivation of friendly relations and international understanding. The Chinese delegation is expected to visit an officer school in Flensburg-Muerwik, a sergeant school in Ploen and a maritime safety training centre in Neustadt during the short stay. German navy says that the three ships took part in a mission several weeks ago against pirates in the Gulf of Aden, located between Yemen and Somalia.

Imtech Marine equipped the first LNG-Hybrid Barge with green technology by order of Becker Marine Systems. The LNG-Hybrid Barge, which will supply the AIDA cruise fleet with energy in Hamburg, is fitted with Imtech Marine’s electrical solutions and fire extinguishing equipment. In addition, Imtech Marine installed the complete ventilation systems with corresponding heat recovery and sea water cooling systems, supporting the Hybrid Barge’s ‘green’ approach by saving energy through reduced heating and cooling requirements.

The hull is complete, the steelwork concluded, the building of the deckhouse has begun – in the dock of Sietas shipyard the first jack-up vessel for offshore wind farms developed and constructed in Germany is currently taking shape. Construction started in April 2012; the handover of the ship to the client, the Dutch marine engineering company Van Oord, is planned for July of this year. For further work on the final assembly, the jack-up vessel needs to be floating in the dock harbor of the Sietas shipyard.

The Forum looked at a broad spectrum of topics concerning container shipping including: stowage and lashing, the potential for LNG vessels and bunkering, trends in the liner markets, high tensile steel and thick materials for ship building, pilotage and maneuvering XXL container ships in the Hamburg harbor and the advantages of having an Emergency Response Service. Some 50 representatives from the container industry met with GL experts at the Container Ship Forum, to hear the presentations and participate in informal discussions.

A double-hulled tanker called Bernhard Dettmer refuels ships in Hamburg Harbor – power supply on board is provided by a Hatz SilentPACK diesel engine. It is end of the working day. Calm returns on board the Bernhard Dettmer, although the diesel engine is running, supplying the ship with power. There is no noise, however, because the engine is running very quietly. This is one of the outstanding features of the Hatz 4L41C SilentPACK engine. The Bernhard Dettmer is a double-hulled tanker, which is used as a bunkering vessel in Hamburg Harbor. Built in 2008, it is 100 m long and 9.50 m wide.