In future, commercial shipping will have to observe a speed limit of 10 knots in the port of Hamburg. The speed limit is to help reduce erosions on the river embankment caused by waves generated by ships. So far the commercial shipping regulations applicable on the river Elbe require ships to travel at a “safe speed”. The safe speed of a ship is determined based on the ship itself, the fairway and the water depth, the embankments as well as the tidal conditions and the impacts of weather. The competent water police authorities of the federal government and the port of Hamburg have decided to impose speed limits; the maximum speed allowed in the port of Hamburg now is 10 knots (about 19 kilometres per hour). Incorporating this speed limit in the port legislation is a necessary and consequential measure. The newly intro-duced maximum speed will, however, not have any adverse effect on the nav-igational safety of ships and smooth vessel traffic. The speed limits are im-posed to ensure national consistency and avoid negative impacts on the envi-ronment. The new regulation does not apply to sports boats. Their maximum speed limit in the port of Hamburg is 12 knots (22 kilometres per hour).

The Port of Hamburg has reason to look to the future with optimism. At 32.8 million tons, total seaborne cargo throughput for the first three months of 2013 put the Port of Hamburg back on a growth course. The trend in bulk cargo handling, especially, fuelled the increase in seaborne cargo handling: In the first quarter of the year a total of 10.1 million tons of bulk cargoes were handled in Hamburg, corresponding to an increase of 6.3 percent. At 2.2 million TEU (20-ft standard containers), the container handling that dominates in Hamburg as a universal port reached almost the same level as in the first quarter of 2012. On seaborne container services with Asia, at 1.2 million TEU almost as many boxes were handled in the first quarter of 2013 as in the comparable period of last year. In the first three months of the year, the trend in container throughput with the Baltic region and the other European countries linked with Hamburg by feeders was also positive. At 541,000 TEU, the volume of containers transported between the Port of Hamburg and the Baltic region was up by 2.0 percent on the same period of last year. More at www.hellenicshipp...

A Dutch study could put a stop to an already controversial project to deepen the Elbe River, SPIEGEL has learned. It warns that if dredging continues, damage to the river's ecosystem would likely be irreparable. More to read at www.spiegel.de/in...

Hamburg’s container traffic slipped 1.7 percent in 2012 from 2011 on sharply lower Asian imports, but Germany’s largest port expects cargo to grow again this year on rising European demand and stronger trade flows in its key overseas markets. At 8.9 million 20-foot-equivalent units, Hamburg’s throughput was sufficient for the port to retain its ranking as Europe’s second-largest container hub ahead of Antwerp, which posted a 0.3 percent decline to 8.64 million TEUs. Both ports lost market share to Rotterdam, where container traffic was unchanged in 2012 at 11.9 million TEUs. Hamburg’s total traffic dipped 1 percent from a record 2011 to 130.9 million metric tons, as a 3 percent drop in imports outweighed a 1.9 percent gain in export volume.

Hamburg was the first continental European port of call on the maiden voyage of the CMA CGM Marco Polo, said to be the world's largest container ship. The ship, with a capacity of 16,020 standard containers, is being handled at the HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai. Marco Polo is the first container ship with a capacity of more than 16,000 standard containers (TEU) to call at the Port of Hamburg. The new flagship of French shipping company CMA CGM moored at a berth at the HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB)on Dec. 12, 2012. "Thanks to its good hinterland connections to Central and Eastern Europe and the excellent trans-shipment link to the Scandinavian and Baltic regions, CMA CGM made a conscious decision that its ships, such as the CMA CGM Marco Polo, should call at Hamburg," said a spokesperson for CMA CGM. "We have to bring our ships as close as possible to our customers, who appreciate the Port of Hamburg as much as we do. The delay in the dredging of the river Elbe makes it more difficult for us to enable dependable handling, because even now we can only sail upriver under restrictions due to very narrow tide windows and the limited draught for ever-larger vessels,” said Reinhard Peschel, Managing Director of CMA CGM Deutschland.

German member of Parliament Eckhardt Rehberg says LNG leads to significantly lower emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur, Ship & Bunker reports. Germany plans to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkers tax free "in the future" for the commercial shipping industry, German member of Parliament Eckhardt Rehberg has said. The tax exemption is part of the recently adopted Energy and Electricity Tax Act. Rehberg did not elaborate on exactly when the move will be made, but noted that other European Union (EU) may also introduce tax exemptions for LNG bunkers and that it was important for Germany to act first as so not to be at a disadvantage. Commenting on the use of LNG as a marine fuel, Rehberg said LNG was "good for the environment," and that 'it leads to significantly lower emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulphur compared to the traditional used heavy grades of oil." In October the Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co. KG (Bomin Linde) announced plans to build a LNG terminal for ship fueling at the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

The State Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and the port industry are thus responding to the continuing restrictions that apply to passages on the River Elbe. The aim is to strengthen the competitiveness of the port of Hamburg in view of the decision on the channel adjustment rendered by the federal administrative court in Leipzig. On top of that, in 2013 the Hamburg Port Authority and port service providers will offer international shipping the following discounts and rebates. 1. Port fees/exceptionally large vessel discount: The port fees for container ships will still be capped at 110,000 GT. For exceptionally large ships an additional discount will be introduced, lowering port fees by approximately 6% and 12% respectively (discount for ships > 360m in length: € 1,500; discount for ships > 390m in length: € 3,000). 2. Port fees/transhipment rebate: The port fee rebate already planned to be granted for transhipment containers will be retained; it will however be advanced to 1st April 2013 and increased by 20%. 3. Port fees/environmental ship index: For ships with a particularly good environmental performance (ESI score > 50) the discount cap will be increased by a good 30%, from € 1,500 to € 2,000. The additional ESI discount is specifically geared towards newly launched ultra large container ships (ULCS). 4. Port fees/annual adjustment: The periodic adjustment of the port fees to rising port operation costs - the increase planned for 2013 is 1.9% - will not be introduced on 1st January 2013 as previously scheduled, but postponed to 1st April 2013; this is equivalent to a 25%-reduction of the increase. 5. Other measures: Port service providers will complement the a.m. measures within the means of their disposal. Talks are being held with the Waterways and Shipping Administration/Directorate North [WSD Nord] concerning a capping of pilotage fees and charges at 110,000 GT for the passage on the River Elbe. 6. Vessel traffic management on the River Elbe: Vessel traffic management on the River Elbe and in the port of Hamburg will focus even more on the requirements of exceptionally large ships. Apart from state-of-the-art traffic control technology, the core of staff needs to be sufficient to handle the rising number of calls by ships of this size. The HPA has recruited additional vessel traffic service centre staff, in particular to further improve the coordination of ship-meeting-and-passing traffic on the River Elbe. Source: Press Release HPA More to read at www.portofhamburg...

Newly formed Bomin Linde LNG GmbH & Co KG is planning its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal for ship fuelling in the Port of Hamburg, Port Strategy reports. Following the completion of a feasibility study on the construction of LNG infrastructure, carried out by the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) and Linde, the project is taking shape. The joint venture is planning the construction of the terminal as part of its plan to provide ships with cleaner fuel in a number of European ports, starting with the Port of Hamburg. www.portstrategy....

Germany's highest administrative court, on Oct. 17, 2012 has halted the planned deepening of the river Elbe - the maritime runway to the port of Hamburg. The decision is a major blow for the country’s largest port.

The visit of the AIDA Cruises ship AIDAblu on 4 October was the 150th of the 2012 season. This represents a new record and certainly gave cause to celebrate the arrival. To mark the milestone, Nadine Palatz (Marketing Manager, Hamburg Cruise Center) presented a commemorative shield to the ship’s captain, Dr. Friedhold Hoppert. Although the cruising season is slowly coming to an end, the cruise port Hamburg still has a number of highlights to offer with a total of seven cruise ship calls scheduled for the Advent season. These will include a dual call on 18 December. Fred Olsen‘s BALMORAL will again be bringing numerous British passengers to the Hanseatic Christmas markets, while the Cunard liner QUEEN VICTORIA will also be docking at Hamburg Cruise Center Altona on December 18. She will then sail out of Hamburg on a three-week Christmas and New Year cruise before returning to set off on a world cruise on 7 January 2013. The last call of the year will be on 20 December, when the Phoenix Reisen cruise ship AMADEA will be heading out to South America. A total of 161 ship visits in 2012 makes it a record year for Hamburg cruise tourism.