Hundreds of millions for expansion of Bremerhaven port

The Bremen state government wants to further expand Bremerhaven, Germany’s second-largest container port, to compete with major European ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp. Therefore, over the next 10 years, the government will invest hundreds of millions of euros in expanding existing terminals, deepening the Weser and moving large container cranes. The extensive construction work is expected to start in 2026 and is expected to be completed between 2030 and 2040. Port Senator Claudia Schilling said this at the presentation of the ambitious plans.

A major problem for both Bremerhaven and the seaport of Hamburg is that large container ships (24,000 TEU) cannot fully utilise the port due to the limited draught of the Weser and Elbe rivers. This makes the two German ports dependent on the tides, something only Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany does not suffer from. The Bremen government has currently set aside almost EUR 2 million to further develop plans for the expansion of Bremerhaven. This will involve widening the existing harbour quay over a distance of 2.8 kilometres by dredging, moving the new quay walls 8 to 10 metres further into the Weser. Bremerhaven has a total harbour quay of 4.9 kilometres.