THE project to deepen and widen the fairway of the Elbe River officially got underway with the hosting of a groundbreaking ceremony. The works are intended to improve the connections between the German port of Hamburg and the global flow of cargo.
Hapag-Lloyd's chief operations officer Dr Maximilian Rothkopf was quoted as saying at the event: 'Once the relevant work has been completed, the world's largest containerships will be able to reach the city of Hamburg with virtually no limitations.' He added that the widening of the river would enable cargo to reach the port of Hamburg more easily and quickly, reported MarineLink, New York.
'Our clear commitment to our home port of Hamburg remains unchanged,' Mr Rothkopf said. 'Hamburg offers us outstanding infrastructure and excellent hinterland connections - be it through a unique railway network or very good European motorway connections. This is another reason why we recently decided to relocate a large part of our north Atlantic services from Bremerhaven to Hamburg.'
Hapag-Lloyd is the port of Hamburg's top customer, handling in the 2018 financial year 1.9 million TEU via the port, which is equivalent to 22 per cent of the port's total container throughput.
When factoring in its shipping alliance partners, the German shipping line handled 3.9 million TEU, or 45 per cent of the port's total volume.
WORLD SHIPPING
Hapag-Lloyd's chief operations officer Dr Maximilian Rothkopf was quoted as saying at the event: 'Once the relevant work has been completed, the world's largest containerships will be able to reach the city of Hamburg with virtually no limitations.' He added that the widening of the river would enable cargo to reach the port of Hamburg more easily and quickly, reported MarineLink, New York.
'Our clear commitment to our home port of Hamburg remains unchanged,' Mr Rothkopf said. 'Hamburg offers us outstanding infrastructure and excellent hinterland connections - be it through a unique railway network or very good European motorway connections. This is another reason why we recently decided to relocate a large part of our north Atlantic services from Bremerhaven to Hamburg.'
Hapag-Lloyd is the port of Hamburg's top customer, handling in the 2018 financial year 1.9 million TEU via the port, which is equivalent to 22 per cent of the port's total container throughput.
When factoring in its shipping alliance partners, the German shipping line handled 3.9 million TEU, or 45 per cent of the port's total volume.
WORLD SHIPPING