JadeWeserPort flies the flag
The JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven presented itself in the Danube port of Enns recently as an efficient deepwater hub with good connections to and from Austria. Despite the fact that plenty of well-known shipping lines call at the port, the gateway’s capacity limits haven’t come close to being reached yet.
The JadeWeserPort, located in Wilhelmshaven in the north of the country, is Germany’s only deepwater port – and has a lot to offer the logistics industry in its hinterlands. In the Austrian inland port of Enns, on the Danube, the gateway recently presented the possibilities in the German Bight, together with representatives from the companies TFG Transfracht, Nordfrost, Eurogate as well as from the Enns container terminal.
Wilhelmshaven has long been linked to Enns and Salzburg by weekly container trains, so Enns was a suitable place to hold a port presentation for Upper Austrian freight forwarders and shippers. With draughts alongside of 18 m, large containerships with 23,000 teu or more on board can moor in Wilhelmshaven, regardless of the tide.
A 70% capacity utilisation rate
The port compound has individual areas of up to 33 ha available, with permitted construction heights of 50 m. In addition, heavylift areas with loads of up to 2,000 t are available at its project cargo pier, according to Michael Moehlmann, sales manager for the container business at the Wilhelmshaven Terminal, speaking in Enns.
The port’s capacities are utilised to about 70%. The hub receives calls from well-known shipping lines, including Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and others.
Since the beginning of this year, ships from the Gemini Cooperation shipping alliance (Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk) have also docked at the gateway, which substantially enhances the hub, according to manager Moehlmann. They focus on North America’s and on Asia’s trade with Europe.
The terminal operator Eurogate is present on 130 ha in Wilhelmshaven and offers an annual handling capacity of around 2.7 million teu, reports Oliver Bergk, the general manager in charge of sales at Eurogate, which besides Wilhelmshaven flies its flag at another eleven locations in Europe.
Ten container gantry cranes, an intermodal terminal with six tracks and gantry cranes are all part of the terminal, which is currently connected to a series of European countries in the hinterland by no less than 40 blocktrains.
A port with a number of options
To meet increasing demand, Eurogate is investing in expanding and digitalising its handling operations. For Mark Biro, manager of Hapag-Lloyd in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia, the JadeWeserPort has now mutated into the second most important port in Northern Europe.
Wilhelmshaven isn’t only a deepsea port, but also a feeder and transit port. Hinterland operators such as TFG Transfracht run trains to Austria, which, according to Transfracht regional manager for Austria, Rebecca Leitner, are well received.
The container terminals in Enns and Salzburg are connected to Wilhelmshaven by weekly container trains, and Otto Hawlicek, managing director of the two terminals, is satisfied with the existing traffic, from which both hubs benefit.
A port with a number of options
He’s also satisfied with the capacity utilisation rate in the terminals in Enns, where increasing handling volumes and a utilisation rate of around 85% have been registered. He underlined the fact that “we still have free slots for trains.” Increasing volumes through the Enns terminal are thus an option. The forecasts for the coming months are promising.