Page 22 - Port of Hamburg | Brochure | Port of Hamburg Magazine 2.2020

■ EXPORT GATEWAY
BEHALA also loads Siemens gas turbines for export through Hamburg by crane at its Berlin plant
cranes,” Lichtfuß can report. “However, this is more complicated than transport using the RoRo method, which runs very smoothly,” stresses BEHALA’s head of logistics. A few years ago, the company invested ten million euros in ramps, the lighter and the heavy-load ve- hicle.
The inland waterway craft is usually timed to arrive in Hamburg at precisely the same moment as the ocean- going ship. Even in the port, there are no cranes to lift the 500-ton heavyweights off the lighter for interim storage on the quay. “But the oceangoing ship has its own crane and then hoists the turbine directly on board,” explains Lichtfuß. Siemens has the seaworthy packing – foils and sheet metal – brought to its plant to ensure protection from weather and other damage for the valu- able cargo.
At the Wallmann terminal, additional elements for a complete power station are loaded on to the ship. Sie- mens stocks these up on the quay for customers, so that they reach their destinations as part of a complete consignment. “It would be nice if we could also store the heavy turbines there in the interim,” says Lichtfuß. In that case BEHALA would no longer be obliged to ar- rive dead on time with its lighter, or even wait until the oceangoing ship arrives. “That’s a sporting challenge for us, and sometimes valuable time is lost through wait- ing,” he adds.
BEHALA for its part would be prepared to invest in a second craft – provided the orders situation permits, or should the Siemens turbines become even heavier. “We would then design this to be longer and wider, al- lowing us to manage with the drafts that we have now, without having to depend on any expansion of the wa- terway at the Siemens plant.” For around 400 kilo- metres, the whole inland waterway transport runs via the Elbe Lateral Canal. “We have profited from the Magdeburg waterway intersection having gone into op- eration a few years ago,” explains the logistics chief. Thanks to that, the lighter does not need to sail on the Elbe and is not dependent on the river’s water levels. ■
BEHALA – Berliner Port & Warehousing uses a specially designed lighter to transport Siemens gas turbines to Hamburg for export worldwide
Having reached Hamburg, the cargo weighing up to 500 tons is loaded on to the oceangoing ship
22 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | September 2020
© Wallmann
© BEHALA © BEHALA