Page 6 - Port of Hamburg | Port of Hamburg Magazine 1.2023

PAGE 06 GATEWAY HAMBURG PORT OF HAMBURG MAGAZINE 1/23
Well positioned for approaching the future
For handling in the universal Port of Hamburg, bulk cargoes take second place after containers.
BY CLAUDIA BEHREND
Bulk cargoes account for around 30 percent of the total handled in the Port of Hamburg. These consist of building materials and fertilizers, suction cargoes like wheat and feedstuffs, plus grab cargoes like coal and ore, as well as liquid cargoes consisting of oil and chemicals. Compared with container han- dling that accounts for 70 percent of total port vol- ume, this segment is therefore somewhat less often in the limelight. Wrongly, for its significance should not be underestimated, among other things for the energy and raw materials supply chain as well as for trade, not just in the region but throughout Germany.
Around 36.2 million tons of bulk cargoes crossed quay walls along the Elbe last year. Suction cargoes accounted for six million tons. With 20.2 million tons, grab cargoes are generally the top category in Ham- burg, while throughput of liquid cargoes totalled ten million tons. In common with other ports, throughput here was lower here on account of the war in Ukraine
and the related sanctions against Russia. In addition, the Corona pandemic caused worldwide problems with supply chains.
Irrespective of these developments, the need to sub- stitute other energy sources for coal by 2038 – and conceivably by 2030, should withdrawal be brought forward – in the bulk cargo segment the prospects are for change. The Port of Hamburg is therefore already engaged in preparing for new products and volumes: Its transformation into a cutting-edge energy hub has already commenced.
HANSAPORT JOINS CLIENT IN GOING
FOR CIRCULARITY
Preparations for a transformation are also in full swing at Germany’s largest handling facility for coal, ore and building materials, Hansa Terminal. With an area of around 350,000 square metres and four berths, where up to 150,000 tons are shifted around the clock daily, this is admittedly functioning almost continuously to
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