• 2019 May 9 12:16

    HVCC optimises handling of inland waterway ships in the Port of Hamburg

    The Port of Hamburg is not only the largest seaport in Germany – it is also the second-largest inland port. Around 10,000 inland waterway vessels call each year the handling facilities of the Elbe metropolis. The Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center (HVCC) is now developing a digital platform specifically for inland waterway vessels that will allow ship calls to be coordinated centrally in the future. This marks another step towards more efficient digitised processes in the Port of Hamburg. The concept will first be presented to a wider audience today, 8 May, in connection with the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the HVCC, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik said.

    For ten years, the HVCC has served as a central, neutral and cross company coordination point, optimising ship traffic coming in and out of the Port of Hamburg. Originally, the two partners – Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG and Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg GmbH – founded the Feeder Logistics Center (FLC) in 2009 to more efficiently coordinate feeder ships. This institution would later begin to handle inland waterway vessels too. Subsequently, mega-ship coordination was expanded through the Nautical Terminal Coordination (NTC) department in close cooperation with the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA). Since 2015, the joint venture has been named the Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center. HVCC’s job is to exchange data and to continuously improve the port system as a whole with as many parties involved as possible. And this has been successful, with almost all shipping companies with mega-ships making use of NTC’s services, while the FLC coordinates the rotation of over 4,000 incoming feeder and inland waterway ships at the Port of Hamburg.

    Given the growth in container transportation by inland waterway vessels in Hamburg, the HVCC is now developing its own inland shipping platform. Since 2012, the annual volume of container traffic reaching or leaving the Port of Hamburg by inland waterway vessels has grown by 40 percent to over 128,000 standard containers (TEUs). Added to this are the more than 100,000 TEUs of “water-to-water transshipments” – transports conducted between terminals via inland waterway vessels – in the previous year.

    “The new platform will make it possible to digitise and enhance the transparency of the planning of inland waterway vessel arrivals in Hamburg, the coordination of rotations within the port, the assignment of berths and terminal handling,” says Managing Director of HVCC Gerald Hirt. The platform creates a network between inland shipping companies, ship operators, terminals and public authorities and ensures that data is exchanged smoothly between all parties involved. Alongside HVCC client BCF Börde Container Feeder GmbH, other partners involved in the project are Deutsche Binnenreederei AG, Carl Robert Eckelmann GmbH and Walter Lauk Ewerführerei GmbH.

    Currently, each shipping company handles the advance planning of its ships independently of the others, meaning that a high degree of bilateral coordination between the parties is required. One of the main objectives of centralised inland ship coordination by the HVCC is to eliminate inefficiency along the transport chain, increase the transparency of planning data and consequently improve the reliability of processing – for all involved.

    BCF Managing Director Hergen Hanke welcomes the continued development of the HVCC services: “We have been a partner of the HVCC for three years, and we expect to see further optimisation of port rotations and minimisation of port waiting times from the inland shipping platform,” he said. Improved predictability of ship calls and optimised use of terminal infrastructure capacity are critical for the terminals.

    Overall, the aim is to enhance inland shipping’s position as an effective and environmentally friendly mode of transport and to make use of its great potential as a key pillar of hinterland traffic. Hamburg’s Senator for Economic Affairs Michael Westhagemann: “An institution like the HVCC is unique in Europe. It has evolved to become an established player in the maritime world and is a best-practice example of digitalisation in action in the Port of Hamburg. The development of a coordination platform for inland shipping will further boost the competitiveness of this sustainable transport mode. As a port city, Hamburg can only benefit from this.”

    The development of the new inland shipping platform by DAKOSY Datenkommunikationssystem AG is receiving financial support from the Hamburg Ministry for the Economy, Transport and Innovation. A pilot system is expected to enter a test phase in the third quarter of 2019. It is set to be put into full operation at the start of 2020.

    About HVCC

    The HVCC Hamburg Vessel Coordination Center is the central, neutral and cross company coordination point for mega-ship, feeder and inland waterway vessel traffic in the Port of Hamburg. Terminals and shipping companies can make use of its operational coordination services for the arrival of ships in the Port of Hamburg, rotation in the port and departure after handling – whether for container mega-ships, bulkers, cruise ships, feeders or inland waterway vessels. A number of HVCC’s partners and customers are already connected to the Center’s overview, receive plans of passage for the dispatch to Hamburg and use it to optimise their planning processes.

    The HVCC is a joint venture between the two terminal operators Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg GmbH.




2024 April 23

18:02 SFL acquires two LNG dual-fuel chemical carriers in combination with long term employment
17:31 Pioneering Spirit completes its first pipeline pull-ins in Kalsto, Norway
17:04 Valenciaport admits the four bids for the construction of the North Terminal
16:54 Vancouver welcomes its first resident battery electric tugs
16:24 Shanghai Port and Lianyungang Port strengthen partnership
15:44 WinGD to debut short-stroke engine design after successful shop test
15:24 Overseas Shipholding Group awarded federal grant to design marine transport for liquified CO2 captured by Florida’s largest emitters
14:53 H2Carrier to establish Norway's first integrated PtX and wind power project
14:23 IBIA and BIMCO sign collaboration deal
13:52 Container ship Xin Xin Shan arrested in Singapore
13:22 MOL to merge its subsidiaries in the Philippines
12:53 Haiti fuel terminal operations halted as gangs seize trucks
12:30 HHLA acquires interest in Austrian intermodal service provider Roland
11:42 South Korean yards built 500 LNG carriers for export in 30 years
11:19 Wartsila to provide a range of solutions for the six PCTCs being built for Sallaum Lines
10:36 Thecla Bodewes Shipyards successfully launches 'Vertom Anette’ for Vertom Group
10:12 Carras Aquataurus becomes world’s first vessel to earn ABS Biofuel-1 notation

2024 April 22

18:10 Cosco Shipping and Shenzhen port partner for automobile exports
17:42 SBM Offshore signs a US$250 million short-term corporate facility
17:06 MSC Group, MSC Foundation and Mercy Ships to build a hospital ship
16:45 Port of Valencia container volumes up to 459,749 TEUs in March 2024
16:13 TotalEnergies launches the Marsa LNG project and deploys its multi-energy strategy in the Sultanate of Oman
15:24 ABS and DOE sign MOU to collaborate on clean energy development and maritime decarbonization research
14:51 MOL becomes first Japanese operator to commercially install onboard CO2 capture system
14:24 Wartsila receives contracts to supply cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems for three new VLECs
13:54 Yang Ming revamp Far East-East Coast of South America Service
13:24 Cunard officially welcomes new ship Queen Anne with ceremony at Fincantieri shipyard
12:01 Value Maritime and MOL sign contract to supply an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System for an LR1 Product Tanker
11:43 Diamond Line enhances its NET2 service
11:24 Kotug International selected EST-Floattech for the containerized battery system for world’s first fully electric pusherboat
10:51 Torqeedo to integrate ocean plastics into its pioneering products

2024 April 21

15:07 Steerprop selected to supply main propulsion and tunnel thrusters for CCG's multi-purpose vessels program
13:51 First of its kind TRAktor V3900-DF launched at Uzmar Shipyard
12:37 ABS and DOE sign MOU to collaborate on clean energy development and maritime decarbonization research
11:25 SCHOTTEL to equip four new compact Damen ASD tugs with SRP 270 RudderPropellers
09:57 Hanwha Ocean expands offshore construction presence

2024 April 20

15:02 European ports contend with slow economic growth, geopolitical impact
13:43 AD Ports Group signs strategic agreement with ADNOC distribution for marine lubricants supply
12:17 Stena Bulk completes sale of Stena Blue Sky
10:05 Newbuild ocean tug bolsters growing LNG bunker fleet

2024 April 19

18:02 CMA CGM to strengthen and reshuffle its SEAS1 & SEAS2 services connecting Asia and East Coast South America
17:25 OOCL upgrades Transpacific Latin Atlantic 1/ 2 (TLA1/ 2) service
16:45 The world's two largest hydrogen ships are to be built in Norway
16:15 KEYS Azalea completes first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in Western Japan
15:40 Port Houston surpasses 1mln TEU mark in Q1 2024
15:29 World's first ammonia dual-fuel Aframaxes to be developed by MISC
14:55 Port of Rotterdam total cargo throughput up 2.0% to 3.3 million TEUs in Q1 2024
14:06 DNV awards certificates for Fortescue’s dual-fuelled ammonia-powered vessel
13:44 Imoto Lines and Marindows launch next-generation zero-emission container ship project
12:41 The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach complete a comprehensive Green and Digital Shipping Corridor study
12:20 Ulsan Port Authority signs MOU with Pacific Environment to decarbonize shipping ports in Singapore
11:50 Cavotec signs USD 5 million shore power order with global shipping company
11:22 Rio Tinto selects Alfa Laval OceanGlide fluidic air lubrication with a focus on advancing efficient shipping and reducing emissions
10:45 Steerprop selected to supply main propulsion and tunnel thrusters for Canadian Coast Guard multi-purpose vessels program
10:14 ST Engineering AirX and Bureau Veritas sign cooperation agreement to advance Wing-in-Ground technology
09:38 Solar panels at the Port of Valencia will generate 22% of the energy it consumes

2024 April 18

18:02 DEME wins cable installation contracts from Prysmian for IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1 offshore grid systems
17:31 RINA awarded contract for Carnival Cruise Line 4th and 5th Excel-class ships
17:18 Cepsa and Evos join up for green methanol storage in Spain and the Netherlands
16:48 ClassNK commences joint research project with JAXA on material compatibility evaluation methods for liquefied oxygen
16:24 Panama Canal announces new measures regarding number of transits and maximum draft
15:50 Kongsberg Maritime secures contract to supply propeller systems to Damen Naval for four Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates
15:24 LR to class Torghatten Nord’s hydrogen-powered ferry duo for Arctic sailings
14:04 CMA CGM sells part of the foreign activities of Bolloré Logistics to the Balguerie Group
13:40 Methanol Institute and SEA-LNG unite against EU trade barriers to biomethane and biomethanol fuels
13:23 DP World launches a new Air Tracking feature to its SeaRates platform
12:31 Port of Los Angeles container volume increases 19% to 743,417 TEU in March 2024
12:16 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 16, 2024
12:11 Coastal Sustainability Alliance boosts development and adoption of maritime biofuel in Singapore
11:43 Ocean Network Express launches reduced emissions shipping service