Ore shipments again on the increase at the Port of Hamburg

The arrival of several massive bulk goods freighters in the last few days has underlined Hamburg’s significance as Germany’s biggest universal port.

After the delivery of almost 149,000 tons of ore from South Africa by the bulk goods carrier RUBENA N on 27 August 2009, there followed the BW FJORD with another 120,000 tons and the APOSTOLOS with 75,000 on 30 August. On 1 September 2009 the RUBIN POWER replaced the APOSTOLOS at its Salzgitterkai berth, with 70,000 tons of ore to unload. With draughts in excess of 12.80 metres, all the bulk goods freighters entered the Port of Hamburg at high tide.

The ships were unloaded at Germany’s biggest seaport terminal for bulk cargo, Hansaport. The terminal has three unloading points for seagoing vessels and can unload as much as 110,000 tons in 24 hours. Moreover it has its own station, with 15 platforms for the loading of block train shipments.

In the days to come further ore freighters from Brazil, Canada, Norway and Sweden, carrying between 70,000 and 110,000 tons apiece, are expected at the Port of Hamburg.

In 2008 Hamburg’s handling of bulk shipments reached a total of 42.5 million tons – an excellent figure, and in fact a 1.8 percent improvement on the previous year. Shipments of suction goods and liquids showed particularly satisfactory results.

At 13.1 percent in the first half of 2009, the handling of bulk goods did not decline quite so sharply as did that of general cargo. Shipments of coal and ore in this period failed to equal the results of the previous year, mainly in view of the drop in demand on the part of the steel industry and the power companies. The current rise in steel production levels gives grounds for hope that shipments of grabbable cargo at the port will soon be increasing again.

Experts from Germany and abroad will be meeting on 8-9 September 2009 for the Bulk Terminal Operations 2009 conference, to be held at Hamburg’s InterContinental Hotel, to discuss current trends in the bulk goods industry.