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The federal government announced this week that the deepening of the Elbe has been completed.
The new target depths for the ships are to be released gradually over the course of the year.
This is good news for Hamburg's logistics group HHLA and the port as a whole; the project had been working on for more than 20 years.
But the pandemic continues to weigh heavily on the port.
Next Thursday, HHLA boss Angela Titzrath (54) will present the company's annual figures for 2020, which are characterized by declines in profit and container handling.
She spoke to WELT AM SONNTAG about the future of Germany's largest seaport and her company.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Ms. Titzrath, the deepening of the Elbe has officially been completed, including the logistically important sub-project of a “meeting box” shortly before Hamburg.
In the coming months, ships will also be able to sail with more draft on the Lower Elbe.
How does this make things easier for the HHLA terminals?
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Angela Titzrath:
The deepening of the Elbe will be completed as planned.
With all the delays that have occurred in previous years, I welcome that very much.
The largest ships in the world can reach and leave the Port of Hamburg safely and reliably.
The “tide window”, the temporal accessibility of the terminals, has increased thanks to the “encounter box”.
That gives our customers an advantage.
Now politicians and the port administration have to solve the silt problem and keep an eye on the problem of depletion.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Is Hamburg doing enough with its various approaches to alleviate the siltation of the Lower Elbe?
A separate Hamburg port area is planned for the deposition of sediment on the island of Scharhörn, an extension of the dump at buoy E3 near Helgoland, and in the long term also a shipment of the silt further out into the North Sea.
Titzrath:
Hamburg has to pursue various approaches, some of which are collaborative, in order to solve the silt problem.
Circular dredging should be avoided as far as possible in the future.
The port of Hamburg is important for all of Germany.
This aspect should be considered when looking for a solution to the silt.
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WELT AM SONNTAG:
The surprising boom in container shipping in the second half of 2020 put a considerable strain on the transport chain.
How much are HHLA's Hamburg terminals affected by this?
Titzrath:
During the pandemic, as a reaction to the crisis, the shipping companies initially severely reduced shipping capacities and increased them again significantly in the second half of the year.
Due to the great demand for sea transport, there is currently a lack of shipping space.
The fact that the ships are at full capacity has a positive effect on the shipping companies' balance sheets.
The friction in the transport chain was triggered in the past few months by the astonishing catch-up effect in consumer goods.
Empty containers, which are mainly used for export from China and Asia, are in short supply or are in the wrong places in the world.
This has led to considerable delays of ships in our outer harbors.
Hardly any ship has been on time in the past few weeks, some even up to two weeks late.
The berthing time and the volume of handling work on most ships no longer match the original plan.
We have a major imbalance at the terminals, not just in Hamburg, but in many ports around the world.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
How did HHLA react?
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Titzrath:
We were always able to handle noticeably delayed ships.
We have found comprehensive solutions for this between the three HHLA container terminals in Hamburg.
However, we have also set up additional warehouses as a kind of buffer to cushion the export backlog.
At the Altenwerder Terminal, for example, we spent a lot of effort creating additional storage capacity for several thousand units (TEU) each of empty and loaded containers.
We cannot compensate one-to-one for a ship being delayed by two weeks.
We can temporarily store export containers that are delivered despite the shipping delays, but not permanently.
We have no leeway for that.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Is this phase over now?
Titzrath:
The shipping companies are signaling to us that the situation remains tense.
In addition to the logistical problems caused by the pandemic, there are additional challenges, such as customs clearance as a result of Brexit.
On top of that, there were slow strikes in Rotterdam.
And ultimately, as in every year, the seasonal influence of the weather is difficult to predict.
Sustained automation and increasing digitization will change port terminals worldwide.
Angela Titzrath, CEO of HHLA
WELT AM SONNTAG:
With more digitization and automation, HHLA wants to make the systems on the terminals faster and more robust.
This has also led to conflicts with employees and warning strikes in recent weeks.
How will work on the terminals change in the next five years?
Titzrath:
The current wage conflict at our service companies SCA and SCB has been resolved.
For this I would also like to thank the federal executive committee of the Verdi union, who participated constructively and mediated in finding a compromise.
Yes, ongoing automation and increasing digitization will change port terminals worldwide.
This development will not stop at our facilities in Hamburg.
We have been operating a largely automated terminal in Altenwerder for almost 20 years - and yet several hundred people work there.
The point is to organize work in a more efficient, more digitalized way - for example, in order to be able to continue handling the world's largest container ships that come to Hamburg today in a time span that is competitive.
Several thousand containers are moved on each of these ships within two to three days.
This is only possible with the most modern technology.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Does that mean unmanned, remote-controlled container cranes for the future, as they have been used in the port of Rotterdam for a number of years?
Titzrath:
Since the beginning of the year we have held an 80 percent stake in iSAM, which is based in Mülheim an der Ruhr.
This company specializes in automation technology and is the world leader in the automation of crane systems in ports.
We want to actively promote the topic of digitization and automation.
In general, digitization leads to a greater separation from the physical workplace.
Container cranes without a driver in the pulpit could therefore also be an option for HHLA.
The system would then be remotely controlled by one person instead.
You have to take away people's fear that activities and job profiles will change.
We invest in education, further training and technology - in the end also to secure jobs and create new ones.
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WELT AM SONNTAG:
Another big topic at HHLA is increasing internationalization.
Titzrath:
Our Hanse 4.0 strategy means that we connect markets that we are working on in the network of our companies.
That is why our rail subsidiary Metrans is building another terminal in Hungary.
Furthermore, we took over the majority in a port terminal in Trieste in 2020.
These investments make sense with a view to the markets in Central and Eastern Europe, because these markets will continue to develop strongly.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Is the Chinese port and logistics sector increasingly becoming a competitor for HHLA on the Mediterranean?
In the Greek port of Piraeus, the Chinese shipping company Cosco increased container handling tenfold after the takeover within a few years.
Cosco is also said to have been interested in Trieste.
Titzrath:
We have had very close ties with China in Hamburg for more than 36 years.
The first freight train from China that came to Western Europe via the New Silk Road went to Hamburg at the time.
Our Chinese partners know HHLA's systemic relevance very well.
The idea behind Hanse 4.0 is that we develop strategically important markets and locations from within Europe.
We do this in Trieste together with local partners.
Our activity is not directed against China, but is an expression of European self-confidence.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
How can you operate and develop your international business under the travel restrictions during the pandemic?
Titzrath:
We have reduced personal contacts to the bare minimum.
My last trip abroad took me to Trieste in autumn.
Since then I have been concentrating my international contacts on video conferences.
Our employees are currently only traveling in very urgent cases, such as the integration of the Trieste terminal into our network.
But very strict rules also apply to this.
So far, we have not had a case of infection as a result of a business trip - a big compliment to the employees for that too.
Our incidence in the company is significantly lower than in Hamburg as a whole.
We monitor compliance with our measures and have restricted external visitor traffic to our facilities to a minimum.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Is there any progress in the exploratory talks with Eurogate about a possible merger of the German container terminals?
Titzrath: It
is still my wish that the main points will be clarified by the end of the year.
In addition, there is no new booth.
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WELT AM SONNTAG:
Many container terminals in Europe are - despite the interim high of the past few months - underutilized.
What role do excess capacities play in your considerations for closer cooperation between the northern German terminals?
Titzrath:
You have to keep an eye on excess capacities.
Also because the development of additional capacities leads to a negative development.
This does not only apply to the North Sea region, but also to the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
Will the companies on the North Sea be able to keep all container terminals on the market in the coming years?
Titzrath:
Every operator will answer that differently.
HHLA will continue to be able to use its terminals to full capacity.
But that will certainly not be the case at all terminals in the North Sea region.
WELT AM SONNTAG:
The Hamburg Chamber of Commerce has restarted the discussion on the development of the port with a new strategy paper.
Put simply, it is also about the fact that the eastern part of the port - this is also where HHLA's O'Swaldkai terminal is located - could be dedicated to an expansion of HafenCity in the long term.
In return, the center and west of the port were to be expanded and modernized in a concentrated manner.
Can you find anything out of that?
Titzrath:
I am pleased that the port development is being discussed and considered politically and socially.
The port is an important employer and an important source of taxes and income for the city.
And it is a place of major technological developments, when I think of the hydrogen economy, for example.
Due to changes in the supply chains, the Port of Hamburg is likely to lose importance on a global scale, but not in its absolute importance for Hamburg.
For the export country Germany, it is becoming even more important.
In the future, the decisive factor will be the added value that the Port of Hamburg generates.
It is no longer just a matter of counting the containers that are moved.
In any case, HHLA will help ensure that the Port of Hamburg becomes the best in the world in terms of technology and innovation.
We have already achieved this at the Altenwerder terminal: It is the first container terminal in the world that is CO2-neutral, primarily through systematic investments in electrification.