After the Suez Cala blockage, depending on schedules, before vessels reach the Port of Hamburg, they stop in other North Range ports. A possible bottleneck in later ports in the rotation will increasingly dissolve.
Ships’ routes and schedules are determined by the shipowners. It is also up to them to decide whether they should now depart from regular routes, says the Port of Hamburg, possibly diverting ships and omitting ports.
Currently, the Port of Hamburg offers 275 berths for seagoing vessels, 40 of these being for mega-ships over 300 metres long. In the Port of Hamburg an average of 25 seagoing vessels arrive at and leave the port every day.
With laytimes sometimes lasing several days, up to 50 vessels can be in the port. Approximately 15 weekly liner services using the Suez Canal call at the Port of Hamburg.
With schedules unchanged, after the one-week blockade an additional 15 vessels on liner services would be set to arrive. An additional 5-10 vessels operate without fixed schedules or routes.
These 25 additional ships are spread over a longer period. Arithmetically, the additional number of ships call would last about three per day.
What is more, after the resumption of traffic in the Suez Canal, a deferred peak in calls by ULCCs may be assumed in the Port of Hamburg.
To avoid ‘bottlenecks’, as the traffic control centre for the Port of Hamburg, the Nautical Centre exercises proactive traffic control. A bottleneck can occur on the Elbe. Should the port be subject to excessive load, vessels are requested to sail slowly and if required, to anchor in the German Bight.
Arrival and departure of seagoing vessels depends on the availability of berths for unloading and loading them. Ships are shifted to produce the heaviest possible utilization of quayside facilities. Should waiting times be foreseen for ships, they receive timely notification. This facilitates just-in-time arrivals.
