Tugs

Around 20 tugboats are available in the Port of Hamburg. They help seagoing ships manoeuvre and dock.

Even though modern ships are very manoeuvrable, the captains still usually ask for assistance from tugboats. It is not mandatory to make use of a tugboat, but in individual cases the harbour master can require it.

Tugboats have extremely powerful motors and have a bollard pull of up to 75 tons. In order to be able to manoeuvre in tight spaces, they are equipped with Schottel or Voith-Schneider propulsion systems. Five of the seven tugboat companies in Hamburg belong to the Joint Service of the Tugboat companies of the Port of Hamburg (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Seeschiffassistenz-Reedereien für den Hafen Hamburg).