10 minute read
No Summer of Love
Figure 1: Location of Ports Handling Containers in the Hamburg-Le Havre Port RangeTHE BIG THREE
Figure 2 offers a summary snapshot of total container volumes by country, for facilities includ THE BIG THREE this competitive port range. It can be seen that between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands Figure 2 offers a summary snapshot of total container volumes by country, for facilities includ there is a reasonably consistent split, with little difference between the 30 per cent retained by this competitive port range. It can be seen that between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands German ports up to 33 per cent by the Netherlands –there is a reasonably consistent split, with little difference between the 30 per cent retained by on 31 per cent – making up the “Big Three” container port volume countries.German ports up to 33 per cent by the Netherlands – with Belgium sandwiched in between the two on 31 per cent – making up the “Big Three” container port volume countries. NB – CAPT: CAN THESE TWO CHARTS BE PLACED SIDENB – CHART AND SAVE SPACE? CAPT: CAN THESE TWO CHARTS BE PLACED SIDE-BY-SIDE OR SOMETHING, TO LOOK LIKE ONE CHART AND SAVE SPACE?
of Ports Handling Containers in the Hamburg-Le Havre Port Range
(down 4.4 per cent), although Hamburg did manage to record a 3.3 per cent improvement to just under 3.2 million. A recent trend in the region is the use of secondary ports – ports traditionally less favoured on liner schedules – such as Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Wilhelmsen etc. which are benefitting from port congestion elsewhere. They are, however, unlikely to maintain this position when current logistics problems are resolved, and “normal” conditions re-emerge. These ports are included in the assessment on subsequent pages. Source: www.dataand.comSource: www.dataand.com
“WARNING STRIKES” HIT REGION
The largest container volume ports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg are all major hub operations, with consistent and steady trades/liner calls and significant investment by the shipping lines. So, while the make-up of this port market is well-established, how have the different facilities in different countries fared over 2021-2022 and what are each expecting moving forward? Since July 2022 there have been “warning strikes” in German ports by 12,000 dockworkers, which shut down terminals in Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven, while a one-day national strike in Belgium impacted operations at Antwerp as unions in the country are seeking better pay and increased investment in the public sector, and
similar industrial action was seen in France. Any planned strike or industrial unrest is against a backdrop of persistent congestion across the North Continent region which continues to delay ships. One shipping line executive, who did not wish to be named, elaborates: “After the lifting of Shanghai’s two-month lockdown and with the peak season then upon us, the last thing the industry needed were continued bottlenecks across the logistics supply chain. Little relief was expected, and this is exactly what has been occurring.” From a port perspective, the perennial subject of poor THE BIG THREETHE BIG THREE vessel schedule reliability on the Asia-Europe trades remains a concern and an influencing factor here. Current indications from specialist information supplier, Data&, is that for Q1 this year average delays for late-running vessels was up to 10 Figure 2 offers a summary snapshot of total container volumes by country, for facilities included in Figure 2 offers a summary snapshot of total container volumes by country, for facilities included in days, with little change expected for Q2. this competitive port range. It can be seen that between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands this competitive port range. It can be seen that between Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands While the German port strike situation has recently been resolved, the Europe-wide discontent has spread to the UK, with port strikes in Felixstowe and Liverpool either planned there is a reasonably consistent split, with little difference between the 30 per cent retained by German ports up to 33 per cent by the Netherlands – with Belgium sandwiched in between the two there is a reasonably consistent split, with little difference between the 30 per cent retained by German ports up to 33 per cent by the Netherlands – with Belgium sandwiched in between the two or ongoing (at the time of writing, end of August 2022). This is on 31 per cent – making up the “Big Three” container port volume countries.on 31 per cent – making up the “Big Three” container port volume countries. of relevance to North Continent ports, notably Antwerp and NB – Rotterdam, who serve the UK market via regular, daily, NB – CAPT: CAN THESE TWO CHARTS BE PLACED SIDE-BY-SIDE OR SOMETHING, TO LOOK LIKE ONE CAPT: CAN THESE TWO CHARTS BE PLACED SIDE-BY-SIDE OR SOMETHING, TO LOOK LIKE ONE CHART AND SAVE SPACE?CHART AND SAVE SPACE? transshipment feeder services. This latter trade route is the subject of detailed analysis in the article, Brexit: UK Trade Impact Unfolds on p22.Figure 2: Estimated Country Volumes – With Share by Major Port in 2021Figure 2: Estimated Country Volumes – With Share by Major Port in 2021
8 Figure 2:
Estimated Country Volumes – With Share by Major Port in 2021
strong presence in the transshipment theatre of operations. A J Keyes reviews recent performance
Hamburg is a key port serving German hinterlands and as a hub port for the Baltic region, while Bremen/Bremerhaven’s is an established transshipment hub port, and Wilhelmshaven offers deep GERMANY: CONTAINER HANDLINGwater and largescale infrastructure but lacks access to import-export hinterlands. Quite a mixed bag. Transshipment is a crucial activity for German ports. Figure 1 compares this activity at ports in Germany in 2012 and 2021 to other facilities in the North Continent region – clearly, German ports are more reliant on transshipment activity than their competitors. This remains the case despite the TRANSSHIPMENT CRUCIALcessation of container traffic to/from Russia in early 2021 in compliance with sanctions. Bremerhaven has seen transshipment reduce from 65 per cent to under 60 per cent, Hamburg has maintained a consistent 40 per cent, while at Wilhelmshaven transshipment accounts for around 75 per cent of annual volume. By comparison, transshipment incidence has remained lower at under 40 German ports have battled through a difficult period but continue to maintain a surprisingly strong per cent in Antwerp and fallen from around 35 per cent to 30 per cent in Rotterdam, leaving German presence in the transshipment theatre of operations. A J Keyes reviews recent performanceports more exposed to volatile hubbing activities.
Figure: Comparison of Transshipment Incidence at Ports in Hamburg-Le Havre Range, 2012 vs 2021
Hamburg is a key port serving German hinterlands and as a hub port for the Baltic region, while Bremen/Bremerhaven is an established transshipment hub port, and Wilhelmshaven offers deep water and largescale infrastructure but lacks access to import-export hinterlands. Quite a mixed bag.
Transshipment is a crucial activity for German ports. Figure 1 compares this activity at ports in Germany in 2012 and 2021 to other facilities in the North Continent region – clearly, German ports are more reliant on transshipment activity than their competitors. This remains the case despite the cessation of container traffic to/from Russia in early 2022 in compliance with sanctions.
Bremerhaven has seen transshipment reduce from 65 per cent to under 60 per cent, Hamburg has maintained a consistent 40 per cent, while at Wilhelmshaven transshipment accounts for around 75 per cent of annual volume. By comparison, transshipment incidence has remained lower at under 40 per cent in Antwerp and fallen from around 35 per cent to 30 per cent in Rotterdam, leaving German ports more exposed to volatile hubbing activities.
PERFORMANCE – CHALLENGES - STRATEGIES
So, in this highly competitive regional port market, especially for transshipment, how are German ports faring and are there any specific strategies in place that might alter the status quo?
Despite a combination of regional and international challenges, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has announced that the total container volume handled at its three Hamburg container terminals was up by 3.1 per cent for the year as of end of June 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, with 3.17 million TEU handled.
The company states that demand from China was the driving factor here. This position has been helped by Cosco Shipping Ports Limited (CSPL) acquiring a 35 per cent stake in HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) in late 2021, marking the first investment by a non-German operator into the country’s main container port. CTT now operates as a preferred hub location for the major liner operator Cosco Shipping, although this may change as German government officials are reportedly now reassessing the deal’s approval.
Source: www.datanand.com
Yet, challenges in Hamburg remain. The 2M Alliance has Source: dataand.com recently had to switch calls at Hamburg to Bremerhaven on PERFORMANCE – CHALLENGES - STRATEGIES its AE7/Condor service due to what it describes as “severe congestion issues” at Hamburg Eurogate Terminal. The So, in this highly competitive regional port market, especially for transshipment, how are German problem continues at the time of writing, particularly due to ports faring and are there any specific strategies in place that might alter the status quo? recent strikes and although this situation has now been Despite a combination of regional and international challenges, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG resolved allied congestion issues remain ongoing.(HHLA) has announced that the total container volume handled at its three Hamburg container terminals was up by 3.1 per cent for the year-to-date to end of June 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, with 3.17 million TEU handled.
8 Comparison of
Transshipment Incidence at Ports in Hamburg-Le Havre Range, 2012 vs 2021 Transshipment is a crucial activity for German ports… ‘‘
Wilhelmshaven continues to service unscheduled ship calls caused by temporary route changes from other northern European ports. During 2021 nearly 713,000TEU were handled, which compares to 423,000TEU in 2020 and exceeded the best pre-crisis result of almost 656,000TEU in 2018.
Moving forward, prospects for this port remain positive, according to Bernd Althusmann, Minister of Economic Affairs, Lower Saxony: “Hapag-Lloyd has now gained a stake in Jade Weser Port, and the terminal operator Eurogate has also announced that it will invest around €150 million over the next three years. Our deep-water port has very good growth prospects in the coming years due to the trend towards ever larger container ships,” he says.
DCT Gdansk – Expanding Capacity and Reach
The continued success of DCT Gdansk is undeniable. Now, the fast-growing facility is expanding its container terminal capacity to handle 4.65 million TEU per annum (up from 2.9 million TEU) with the construction of a third deep-water terminal (T3) adjacent to the existing DCT Terminals – T1 and T2.
For DCT Gdansk, the 2010 total of 452,000TEU has long since been left behind surpassing 2.09 million TEU in 2021, with 2022 expected to exceed this figure.
To handle the largest container ships in service, seven new ship-to-shore gantry cranes will be commissioned by DCT Gdansk for its T3 project with these supported by 20 semi-automatic Rail Mounted Gantry (RMG) cranes for the container yard. Construction commenced in September 2022, comprising a 717m quay, with a water depth of 17.5m alongside, and a supporting yard area of 36,500m2 .
To supplement transshipment business, DCT Gdansk, a PSA International terminal, is anticipating future demand growth in conjunction with more distant transit markets such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus, Ukraine, Austria and Hungary, with these areas better served by rail.
DCT is making significant progress in increasing its rail capabilities by adding additional capacity at the railhead in the terminal to help support growing transit volumes to more distant Polish hinterlands, Central Europe and established Hamburg hinterlands in Poland.
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