Page 18 - Port of Hamburg Magazine - 03.18

■ HINTERLAND
EVEN LATE IN THE EVENING, IT’S STILL ‘RUSH-HOUR’ AT THE LOCK IN GEESTHACHT. WITH ITS TWO PUSH-BARGES THE ‘ORION 2’ IS THE LONGEST VESSEL IN THE LOCK
18 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | September 2018
Wardrobes, clothes, grain or project shipments: Inland waterway craft ferry them all
Many of us have screwed together a piece of furniture with an Allen key or have the resulting cupboard standing at home. In the latter you might find garments bearing the labels of different trading chains. What only a handful of people realize is that apart from coal, ore, wheat and project shipments, inland waterway craft are also the chosen means of transport, also routing, from the Port of Hamburg to the despatch warehouses of major brands. Port of Hamburg Magazine accompanied the youngest ship’s crew from Hamburg down to Braunschweig aboard the push barge ‘Orion 2’.
At 25, skipper Christoph Schwindt is almost an old hand. He has been sailing along German inland water- ways for six years and loves the job. He rapidly be- cameusedtohisworkrhythm:Severaldaysorweeks at a time afloat, then uninterrupted free time at home in Malchow. “I trained on the white-funnel passenger vessels, but freight traffic is more fun,” he says, sur- veying the 108 TEU being pushed up the Elbe by the ‘Orion 2’ for Deutsche Binnenreederei. Helmsman Florian Grüneberg, 22, also hails from passenger ser- vices, on which he was “now and again dishing out sausages.”
AN INLAND SAILOR CAN COOK
He quickly acquired other skills on board a freighter. Among them: “I can now cook”. That’s vital aboard an inland waterway craft. The lads on the ‘Orion 2’ have no time for canned foods or ready meals. Like his col- leagues, the third member of the trio, Eike Pohle, 28, also contributes a lot as a jack-of-all-trades – whether in the engine room or up in the galley.
Everything is truly shipshape on and below deck, and the self-cooked fare tastes really good. “We aim to
keep the ship clean. After all, for many days a month, it’s home for us,” the three agree. Their day usually commences at 6 a.m. Last night they arrived from Braunschweig in Hamburg’s Peutehafen and trans- ferred their cargo on to push-lighters. Then their two fresh lighters are fully loaded earlier than expected. The 108 TEU originated from various terminals in the Port of Hamburg and in the course of the day were as- sembled for the tour to Braunschweig.
WITH THE TIDE
Christoph Schwindt brings his vessel to the loaded barges as a matter of course, and links up with the dou- ble set. The two deckhands are responsible for cou- pling up. The lighters are secured by just two rope ends. “That’s more secure than any wire hawser,” Flo- rian Grüneberg is well aware. It’s vital that the lighters are well trimmed and the ballast is correct for around 735 tons of freight. The push train is now 155 metres long. And off it goes. A slight incoming tide brings a speed dividend over the first few kilometres. The ‘Ori- on 2’ is actually making about 15 knots. “The farther upstream we go, the weaker the tidal effect,” the skip-
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