• 2018 December 14 17:30

    Fairway adjustment will simplify Elbe traffic control already next year

    Germany’s largest universal port contains over 75 terminals, handling over 18,000 ocean-going and inland waterway ships per year, Port of Hamburg said in a press release. For the Elbe and port pilots, the 65 percent increase in the number of calls by what are known as extraordinarily large vessels – German: AGFs – represents a challenge. Whereas in 2008 not quite 600 ships in this class berthed in Hamburg, meanwhile more than 1000 do so. AGFs are vessels with a length of over 330 metres and a breadth of over 45 metres. These are subject to numerous restrictions along the 120-kilometre stretch of the River Elbe between the estuary and the boundary of the Port of Hamburg, which must be exactly observed. In the view of Port Captain Jörg Pollmann, in a growing number of traffic situations requiring regulation, maximum safety can only be achieved through proactive movement control coordinated with all traffic participants.

    Further expansion of cooperation between those responsible for traffic control in the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), the port and Elbe pilots, and the Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC), should in future involve incorporation of ships and pilot stations in the German Bight in mobile data traffic. For Pollmann, owing to the increasing digitization of port traffic control, a ‘Port Traffic Center’ will ultimately ensure data flow and intelligent networking of all carriers and traffic flows, while allowing for infrastructure and logistics procedures.

    The fairway adjustment is the most important strategic development project for the Port of Hamburg. Upgrading the fairway can start as soon as the Federal and Hamburg planning authorities have eliminated the reservations expressed by the Court. A corresponding supplementary planning procedure has been carried out and completed today with a supplementary planning decision. This was mainly concerned with the ‘Billwerder Island Tidal Connection’ project.

    In the course of next year, as part of the fairway adjustment of the Lower and Outer Elbe, widening of the fairway by 20 metres between Störbogen and Wedel will already create extra capacity for ultra-large vessels and a simplification for traffic control of traffic arriving and departing at Germany’s s largest universal port. Seven kilometres in length and 385 metres wide, once it is completed at the end of 2019, a passing box between Wedel and Wittenbergen will bring to an end the ‘one-way traffic’ for ships with a combined width of more than 90 metres. Arithmetic suggests that 2,800 ultra-large ships could then reach the Port of Hamburg – or more than twice as many as at present.
     
    To be prepared for further developments in ship sizes, HPA and the pilots are working together with shipping companies on simulation studies, for example to research the manoeuvring capacities for 23,000-TEU containerships. In the course of these studies, calls by these ships in the Port of Hamburg will be re-created in the simulator. All those involved in traffic control, shipping companies and terminals will learn important lessons from these simulator studies. Business in the Port of Hamburg anticipates completion of the fairway adjustment in summer 2021.
     
    Since 2015, the HVCC, or Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center, has looked after optimized passage planning for ultra-large ships in the AGF class, which along with containerships also includes bulk carriers and cruise ships. Founded by terminal operators EUROGATE and HHLA, as Nautische Terminal Koordination (NTK) the company undertakes not only the operational coordination of arrival and departure planning for mega-ships, but also – as the Feeder Logistics Centre (FLZ) – rotation planning, arrival control and stowage planning for feederships and inland waterway craft in the Port of Hamburg. Following arrival at a previous port, e.g. Southampton, via the HVCC data platform, for example, all partner shipowners receive inbound passage plans. Precise time planning enables the ship’s speed for the Elbe and arrival time at the terminal in Hamburg can be optimally determined. Reduction of vessel speed from 18 to 14 knots on the voyage section Rotterdam – Hamburg of 220 nautical miles yields a 22-ton saving in bunkers and leads to a 66-ton reduction in CO2 emissions. The data made available by the HVCC also include outbound passage plans for optimized transit from Hamburg to the next port. In 2017, HVCC served more than 3,000 vessels arriving and departing at the Port of Hamburg. Other ports, the terminals in Hamburg and the shipping companies that cooperate, are all involved.
     




2024 March 28

18:05 Jan De Nul, ENGIE and Equans launch a pilot project centred around the use of Vanadium Redox Flow batteries
17:35 Latvian port equipment manufacturer Bleste introduces new bulk handling ‘bucket’
17:05 Investors upgrade Navios Maritime Partners
16:25 DEME reports 22% increase in the orderbook and a record-high turnover of 3.3 billion euros in 2023
16:14 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 13, 2024
15:41 AD Ports Group announced the opening of Saadiyat Marina & Ferry Terminal and Rabdan Marina
15:11 Sydney invests $11.5 million in two new operational vessels designed by Incat Crowther
14:55 China’s Jinzhao wins Peru $405m port construction contract
14:13 APM Terminals Moín handled six million TEU
13:48 ClassNK grants Innovation Endorsements for Products & Solutions to two innovative initiatives by MOL
13:37 Konecranes launches its flagship Konecranes X-series industrial crane
12:53 United European Car Carriers UECC spearheads collaboration with industry leaders to advance CNSL as a sustainable marine fuel
12:26 Ocean Network Express announces Transpacific service
11:48 Yang Ming announces 2025 Trans-Pacific service network
11:24 Fincantieri signs contract for the supply of two PPAs to Indonesia
10:42 Maersk transported more than 660,000 TEU using clean fuel in 2023
10:23 Documentation delays push industry costs to $3bn
09:48 PONANT and FARWIND Energy partner to develop green hydrogen refueling solutions

2024 March 27

18:22 Bureau Veritas awards world’s first prototype certification for SolarDuck’s floating offshore solar solution
17:58 The recently converted Allseas's shallow water pipelay barge starts preparations for its first commercial project
17:38 The Port of Rotterdam calls on the European Commission and Parliament to focus on actively promoting green energy
15:23 SEFE to become sole shareholder of WIGA
14:53 Ocean Installer secures yet another SLM contract with Equinor
14:23 Cadeler signs offshore wind turbine installation contract for the vessel Wind Scylla
13:42 Carnival Cruise Line orders 5th Excel-class cruise ship
13:11 Maersk and MSC overcharging cargo owners for EU ETS, says T&E
12:52 The Port Authority of Valencia launches the ZAL project in the Port of Valencia
12:11 Clarkson Port Services and Peak Group collaborate to deliver Port Agency services across the North Sea
11:42 Wan Hai Lines holds ship naming ceremony for new vessels
11:24 Consolidated shipping lines EBIT loss was $1.44 billion in Q4 2023: Sea-Intelligence
10:49 Seaspan Shipyards receives long-term contracts for the pre-construction work of the the Canadian Coast Guard's first six multi-mission vessels
10:14 Woodside completes sale of 10% scarborough interest

2024 March 26

18:02 COSCO Shipping Lines introduces new Americas service
17:30 Davie awarded first contract for design of icebreaker fleet under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy
17:04 Sanctions complicate Arctic LNG ship sales, Hanwha Ocean says - Bloomberg
16:57 Terntank places an order for 1+1 additional wind/ methanol-ready hybrid tanker
16:28 BW LNG completes acquisition of two TFDE vessels from Stena Bulk
15:50 Hanwha Ocean develops VR-based special vehicle simulator
15:20 TotalEnergies and SINOPEC join forces to produce sustainable jet fuel at a SINOPEC's refinery
14:52 Wärtsilä Lifecycle Agreement to guarantee operational reliability of new wind farm installation vessel
14:23 Hudong-Zhonghua launches two LNG carriers
13:51 Cargo ship hits Baltimore’s Key Bridge
13:12 Final sanctioned tanker with Russian Sokol oil to reach China port - Reuters
12:42 Adani Ports acquires 95% of Odisha's Gopalpur Port from SP Group for $162 million
12:21 IHI and Yara Clean Ammonia agree to jointly assess clean ammonia business collaboration
11:41 Yara Clean Ammonia and Azane granted safety permit to build world's first low emission ammonia bunkering terminal
11:16 Wartsila and Royal Caribbean Group celebrate 15 years of collaboration on digital transformation
10:46 A global carbon tax on shipping is coming, says ABS Chairman and CEO
10:21 Eni, Fincantieri and RINA establish partnership for maritime transport decarbonization

2024 March 25

18:07 The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore continues to investigate reports of oil spills off the port of Tuas
17:31 “K” Line, NIPPON HAKUYO and OPT Gate sign an agreement for a new fire detection system for car carriers
17:07 Greek merchant fleet recorded slight decline in January 2024
16:47 Hanwha Ocean Plans to develop green technology and naval ships
16:25 U-Ming Singapore and ITOCHU sign milestone MoU for the joint development of ammonia dual-fuel and de-carbonized vessels
15:34 Svitzer targets methanol-fuelled MAN 175DF-M engine for tug application
15:04 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs contracts for four 9,300 CEU vessels with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard
14:40 Taiwan International Port to upgrade terminal facility at Kaohsiung
13:59 Сruise ship Carnival Freedom catches fire near Bahamas
12:59 Hanwha Ocean wins 2.4 tln-won order for 8 LNG ships
11:16 Inland Ports meet in Paris to talk about the innovation potential of inland ports
10:50 IMO agrees possible outline for maritime “net-zero framework”
10:24 Hapag-Lloyd to continue to avoid the Red Sea route
09:58 QatarEnergy enters time charter agreements with Nakilat for the operation of 25 LNG vessels

2024 March 24

16:18 Inchgreen Marine Park upgraded as part of £11m investment
15:14 A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Solent Rail Terminal Rail was held at the Port of Southampton
14:08 ESNA and Strategic Marine join forces to offer Surface Effect Ship (“SES”) Crew Transfer Vessels (“CTV”) to the market
13:07 First LNG powered vessel calls at HIP
12:49 Inter-array cable installation completed at Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm
11:32 Equinor ASA posts net income at USD 11.9 billion in 2023
09:25 Edda Wind announces the sale of Edda Passat