Blue Water BREB Ships Large Quantities of Timber via Cuxhaven

The terminal in Cuxhaven is actually known for its work in the renewable energy sector. Since its founding in 2016, Blue Water BREB has developed into Germany’s number one wind energy terminal – with renowned customers such as Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Enercon, and Nordex, among others. Traditionally, forestry products are also part of the core business of the shipping division of the 50-percent shareholder “BREB GmbH & Co.KG”.

(Cuxhaven) “Since almost 15 years, up to 500,000 cubic meters of timber have been shipped annually under the BREB flag from the Adriatic port of Koper to North Africa,” says Arne Ehlers, managing partner of BREB GmbH & Co. KG and managing director of Blue Water BREB GmbH. The business with forestry products from Scandinavia to the ports of Northern Europe, Great Britain, or from the Iberian Peninsula to the north is even older. “Against this background, it was only a matter of time before the first goods of this kind were handled through our own terminal in Cuxhaven,” explains Ehlers.

Regular Service to Hull

Facilitated by BREB’s own charter department, the first loading of 5,200 cubic meters of timber to Casablanca (Morocco) was completed on October 31, 2020, with the ship “Bremer Johanna”. The timber was transported on the company’s own special wagons from the producer’s sawmill in Bavaria by the EVB (Eisenbahnen und Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH) to Cuxhaven. Later that same year, the first trial shipment for an English wholesaler followed. “From this, a bi-weekly regular service from Cuxhaven to Hull in England developed in no time,” reports Captain Ehlers. These shipments are primarily carried out by the ships “BREB TIMBER” and “BREB TRADER”. “Today, the Blue Water BREB Terminal is Germany’s main export port for timber to Great Britain,” explained Torsten Zufall, timber broker for the England business, during discussions in Munich last week.

Customer Support from a Single Source

“In addition to fast and professional processing, customers especially appreciate the integrated logistics solution from a single source. The customer has only one contact person from the beginning. BREB takes full control and responsibility for loading and sea transport upon delivery of the goods at the terminal in Cuxhaven. This eliminates any interface management for the customer. Instead, customers are informed in real-time about each individual step of the process,” explains Arne Ehlers. Just like the wind energy sector, timber customers have announced further volume increases for the coming years. Cuxhaven has also established itself in this market segment and is set as a fixed component in the logistics planning of customers in the long term.

Photo: © BREB