The barge is considered one of the most ecological means of transport and is also regularly sighted in the Port of Hamburg, one of the largest inland ports in Germany.

Cargo leaves Hamburg daily on the River Elbe and the canals into the hinterland. There are services on the middle and upper Elbe in the direction of Magdeburg, Aken, Torgau, Riesa, Dresden and even to the Czech Republic to Děčin, Ústí nad Labem and Lovosice. Along the Lower Elbe Brunsbüttel, Cuxhaven and Glückstadt, among others can be served. In the Elbe Lateral Canal the link to the Mittellandkanal is also the connection to Braunschweig, Fallersleben, Haldensleben, Hanover and Minden as well as to the Ruhr region and the inland ports of the Rhein, Main, Mosel and Neckar.

The Port of Hamburg provides 106 public berths for inland waterway craft. A map just published by Hamburg Port Authority shows where to find them: www.hamburg-port-authority.de. This also indicates the main features of berth equipment and is continually being extended and updated.