500,000,000 / year
German maritime ports’ hopes and expectations. The national association of maritime port enterprises in Germany, ZDS, has called for a more ambitious port policy from Berlin, and reiterated a call for financial support from the government. ITJ correspondent Claudia Behrend reports from the annual media conference.
Angela Titzrath, the president of Germany’s national association of maritime port enterprises (Zentralverband der deutschen Seehafenbetriebe ZDS), reported at the association’s annual press conference at the end of November in Hamburg that “we’ve faced challenging times economically and, above all, geopolitically for several years now.”
This state of affairs is also reflected in the gateways’ throughput figures, naturally enough. “German seaports handled around 136.29 million t of goods in the first half of 2024, compared to approximately 136.24 million t in the same period last year,” Titzrath said. The significance of the total weight in relation to actual throughput is limited, however.
The hubs handled a total of 6.5 million teu in the container segment, an increase of approximately 3.3% compared to the same period last year. This growth could be seen as a slightly positive sign, especially in terms of the trend in consumer demand. “We simultaneously have to take into account, however, the fact that 2023 was actually the worst year on record in the last two decades,” Titzrath admitted.
The ZDS is more worried by political developments than the economic situation. “In many countries we’ve observed a relapse into protectionism and a reorientation towards supposed national strengths,” according to Titzrath.
“In the long run, economies that close themselves down always lose. Special tariffs, such as those now levied on e-cars from China, damage domestic economies immensely. It’s important, in contrast, to push ahead with new free-trade agreements, for example with India or Latin America.”
Greater central government fundig is necessary
The state of the nation’s transport infrastructure is a political constraint. “We can’t afford policies that only recognise the social value of something when it doesn’t work. This is especially true for Germany’s seaports,” Titzrath pointed out.
“Ports lease the land and invest in employees, cranes, vehicles, buildings and IT systems.” However, port infrastructure is in the hands of the state in the coastal federal states and a local responsibility. However, it is financially overwhelmed by the requirements of the future, especially since the ports play a key role for the entire nation.
The central government thus has to become more involved, Titzrath and the ZDS believe. “In future we expect EUR 500 million a year to flow from central government to the states for the basic financing of seaports,” said Titzrath.
This must be laid down by the new government after the election in spring. “500, 550, 450 million – the precise figure isn’t really all that important,” ZDS managing director Daniel Hosseus added. Significantly more funds simply have to flow into the system, for example into public infrastructure such as access roads, port infrastructure and quay walls.
According to the ZDS the income from emissions certificate trading in maritime shipping and the proceeds from the auctioning off of land for offshore wind energy projects are conceivable sources of funds.
In addition to finance there are investment costs for new port facilities too. Titzrath is convinced that “we need this, particularly in the context of the energy transition, to handle wind turbines and to import green hydrogen.”