HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY from 10 to 12 May, a festival of unique maritime diversity

25 Mar 2019 13:13 Entertainment

Hamburg, 25 March 2019. They come from all the oceans of the world, with just one destination – the 830th HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY from 10 to 12 May. The vessels meeting up in the heart of this vibrant city on the Elbe are tall ships and cruise ships, working vessels and tug boats, museum ships and naval units. The HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY features some 300 vessels of all kinds, the widest range anywhere in Europe, from heritage to hyper-modern – a journey taking visitors through the history of maritime travel to the very latest in ship technology.

Magnificent tall ships such as the Alexander von Humboldt II, historic sailing ships such as the Kruzenshtern, Mir and Sedov join modern working vessels, traditional and museum ships, plus futuristic vessels like the Energy Observer. This high-tech catamaran is powered by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydrogen. She is the first maritime vessel to make her own hydrogen for a circumnavigation of the globe, with zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Premiere for Europe’s most advanced fire-fighting vessel
Europe’s most advanced fireboat is at the world’s biggest port festival for the very first time. The Branddirektor Westphal, a 44 metre vessel, has been in service at the Port of Hamburg since the start of the year; she is capable of pumping 120,000 litres of water per minute, spraying it up to a height of 110 metres and to a range of 180 metres. The Branddirektor Westphal is a key element in modernisation of the Hamburg fire-fighting fleet. A part of the modern working fleet will be presented by the subsidiary of the Hamburg Port authority at 20:30 on the Friday. The demonstration will also include an icebreaker, a survey ship equipped with the latest measurement technology, a diver support vessel, and a coastal patrol vessel.

Maritime heritage vessels
They celebrate the illustrious history of seafaring, putting on a magnificent show at the HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY – lovingly restored museum ships from distinguished sailing and steam ships to historic working vessels. These veterans of the seas tell the story of old times at their moorings in the heritage harbour in HafenCity, in the Hansa harbour and the museum harbour Oevelgönne. Carefully restored museum and heritage vessels bear witness to their operations at sea, for example the pilot boat Elbe 5, lightship Elbe 3 and steam-powered icebreaker Stettin. The historic general cargo freighter BLEICHEN, launched in 1958, regularly carried cargoes to and from Sweden and Finland, e.g. paper for the Axel Springer publishing house. The two ocean-going tugs Holland and Elbe from the Netherlands, which were among the world’s most powerful tugs on their commissioning in the 1950s, have a chequered history. The Cap San Diego (the world’s biggest navigable museum ship), and the three-masted barque Rickmer Rickmers have become landmarks in Hamburg, and are open for visitors to go on board. The floating crane Saatsee (1917), steam barge Schutendampfsauger IV (1909) and the museum barge (1913) at the Harbour Museum in Australiastrasse are open to visitors. The same applies to the tall ships moored at Landungsbrücken.

Ocean giants in Hamburg
The traditional ships contrast with 9 cruise ships scheduled to call on the Port of Hamburg during the three days of the festival. AIDA Cruises, the principal sponsor of the world’s greatest port festival, is represented by four cruise ships – AIDAluna, AIDAsol and AIDAvita, plus the 300 metre AIDAperla. The largest guest at the HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY is the luxury liner MSC Preziosa, with a length of 330 metres. That makes the river cruise vessels such as the Sans Souci (82 metres) look almost small. Other cruise ships calling on Hamburg are the Astor, the Deutschland and Mein Schiff 5.

Modern working vessels in action
A spectacular demonstration by modern working vessels illustrates the challenges faced by shipping today. A life-saving exercise shows how helpers work in cooperation in critical situations at sea. Participants include a police and naval SAR helicopter, vessels of the waterways police, the fire brigade, the THW and the Hamburg Port Authority. A presentation of SOS rescue workers in action will be made on the Elbe at 13:15 on the Saturday and 12:45 on the Sunday.

Welcome aboard!
Many of the vessels invite visitors on board for the parades. For an overview, and other useful tips on the world’s greatest port festival, see www.hamburg.com/port-anniversary/ or phone the hotline of Hamburg Tourismus GmbH, open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 on +49 40 30051300.

The HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY would like to thank its long-standing principal sponsor AIDA Cruises – their support is essential to make the world’s greatest port festival possible each year, thrilling more than a million visitors from all parts of the world. 

HAMBURG PORT ANNIVERSARY from 10 to 12 May, a festival of unique maritime diversity

Press contact

Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH
Andrea Heyden
Phone: +49 40-3569-2446
E-mail: andrea.heyden@hamburg-messe.de