A bombshell in Hamburg
A period of general upheaval in the port of Hamburg also sees a pilot leaving the ship. Europe’s northern ports have been losing ground to the continent’s western range for many years now. In addition to a large number of unresolved port infrastructure matters there’s an inadequate financial basis in Hamburg. On top of this the recent resignation of Gunther Bonz, the president of the port’s business association, has made waves too. The ITJ sheds some light on ongoing problems.
There’s been rumblings a-plenty in the German port of Hamburg for a while now. After the mayor of the free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg said on 13 September that the liner operator Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), from Geneva (Switzerland) and owned by the Aponte family, from Sorrento, near Naples (Italy), would be given a 49.9% stake in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), things quickly turned negative, with more bad news.
In October the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) announced a 6.5% increase in fees for port services with effect from 1 January 2024. This was an absolutely sub-optimal measure in view of the falling inflation rate, and especially against the background of an already significantly worse cost structure compared to the western range ports in Rotterdam and Antwerp.
This is partially because the berthing dues in particular were affected, which will make calls by ULCVs more expensive by an approximately five-digit sum.
As soon as the outrage over these two events has subsided, the next – even louder – bombshell followed. On 27 October the long-time president of the Unternehmensverbands Hafen Hamburg (UVHH, Hamburg port association) and former minister of the economy / state councillor Gunther Bonz said he was stepping down, declining to stand in the elections for the UVHH presidency scheduled for 12 December 2023. Hamburg has thus lost the most accomplished, sharpest and competent voice for the overall port economy, which represents a serious blow.
There may be a lot of speculation about his motives, without discussing them further in detail here. The fact is that Bonz isn’t now giving any interviews at all, in order to prevent the port and the UVHH being damaged on account of political influence.
Bonz’s decision is understandable for many involved in port matters, given the unresolved problems in the port. There’s the controversial A26 east link road; and confusing decisions concerning replacing the Köhlbrand bridge linking the eastern and western basins, and the terminals located there. The bridge has ben declared dilapidated. Then a report from 2018 appeared, however, suggesting that the bridge can remain in place, albeit with high costs for its maintenance and preservation.
By this time EUR 56 million had already been invested in feasibility studies for the construction of a tunnel which – surprise, surprise – revealed technical problems with foreseeable cost increases in the building phase.
The tunnel project was stopped by the senator in charge and the building of a new bridge – which could be a tourist highlight for Hamburg too – was back on the table.
And that’s not all. The HPA suffers from underfunding from the federal state’s ministry of the economy and innovation. According to Hamburg’s budget the HPA receives funds of around EUR 270 million annually. Over EUR 100 million will be consumed by urgent dredging work in the port and the fairway. Personnel costs account for a further EUR 120 million. There’s thus little left for ongoing operations and investment.
Hamburg’s competitors, the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, each receive more than EUR 1 billion in public support annually – and don’t have to maintain or expand their supra-regional road networks with these funds. Observers shouldn’t forget that the Hamburg port area covers approximately 10% of the total Hamburg city area.