Article • 13.12.2022
Sustainability Boost
for container transhipments in the Port of Hamburg
Since November 1, 2022, ship-based container transfers for transhipments have been possible in the Port of Hamburg. Previously, these transports were carried out exclusively by truck. Laying the groundwork for this environmentally-friendly new service was not trivial. Before even one container could be moved, a digital process had to be created to also cover customs handling. The project is an example of how the Port Community Platform (PCS) continues to form the basis for new digital solutions in the Port of Hamburg.
Terminology - Glossary
Transhipment: Transfer of containers between large container ships and smaller feeder vessels
Feeder ships: These are smaller container ships used in container transport which are used as suppliers and distributors for large ocean-going vessels. The largest of these units are used in
Custody: Containers in customs custody may remain at the container terminal for a maximum of 90 days (for land delivery) or 45 days (for sea delivery). After this period, a transfer to a bonded warehouse is generally mandatory and subject to a fee.
The solution for water-based port transports is clearly visible: the newly-developed service includes container transfers by feeder ship between the HHLA terminals CTA, CTT and CTB as well as Eurogate and, in the near future, also the Süd-West Terminal. The way was paved by Danish shipping company Unifeeder as initiator, together with DAKOSY and DIHLA DAKOSY Interessengemeinschaft Hamburger Linienagenten. The newly-created digital application can be used by all feeder carriers who want to use their free ship stowage space for port transhipments.
Florian Pein, Area Director West and Central Europe at Unifeeder, wants to set a good example: “We are aiming to switch 50 percent of our transhipment operations from trucks to feeder carriers. The environmentally-friendly service uses existing ship capacities and solves several problems at once. Port transports are shifted from road to waterway. It is also an alternative to conventional truck transports, which are often no longer possible at short notice due to the shortage of drivers."
“We are aiming to switch 50 percent of our transhipment operations from trucks to feeder carriers. The service counteracts the shortage of drivers, relieves road congestion and is also environmentally friendly."
Unifeeder as visionary and pilot partner
The idea of using existing vessel cargo space for transhipment transfers came from Unifeeder. The largest feeder carrier in Northern Europe makes daily calls, with its fleet operating at all the major container terminals in the Port of Hamburg, to load cargo for its short sea shipping services throughout Northern Europe.
"When the ships are en route between terminals, they always have sufficient free capacity to take additional containers within the port" explains Florian Pein, Area Director West and Central Europe at Unifeeder, outlining the baseline situation and adding, "At the same time, we are feeling the effects of the decline in the number of young truck drivers in recent years. This is steadily leading to a significant lack of transhipment capabilities and long waiting times in the Port of Hamburg." Sunday and holiday driving restrictions further limit truck availability. This is yet another plus point for waterborne transport, which is not affected by these regulations.
There was one major hurdle in the implementation. "Feeder ships are designed to leave the port again. Therefore, the containers transported on them are subject to export customs monitoring. As a result, a digital process first had to be created that also covers the customs handling for seaward bound transhipments," says DAKOSY project manager Franz Schwanke, explaining the challenge.
Sönke Witt, Head of Business Partner Communication at HHLA, supervised the project on the terminal operator's side. He confirms: "The possibility of having port transhipments carried out by feeder ship in the future will result in a bundling of volumes for ship calls. This will provide relief for the port system as a whole. This is a benefit our customers, our terminals and the entire infrastructure."
Against the background of creating a future-oriented solution, DIHLA DAKOSY Interessengemeinschaft Hamburger Linienagenten GmbH provided the preliminary financing for the necessary digital processes. Managing director Alexander Geisler explains their motivation: "For us, ship-based transhipments in the port are the right way to go. The current real-life constraints have shown that there is a need for this. Now the groundwork has been laid for digital customs handling. This paves the way to provide relief for the road infrastructure in the port and, taking into account existing shipping capacities and digital infrastructure, to be more environmentally friendly and thus moving toward the future."
Port Community System as a foundation
The digital basis is the Port Community System (PCS) operated by DAKOSY, into which the new module has been integrated. Schwanke explains: "Normally, an export customs procedure must be completed as soon as a container is loaded onto a feeder ship. Together with the economic operators and in coordination with customs, we have now created an integration function in the IMP import platform and the EMP export platform that can be used to handle transhipments cleanly in accordance with customs regulations."
The so-called transhipment manifest was newly introduced into the process. With this manifest, the feeder carrier signals via EDI interface or via the IMP web application that it wants to make a transhipment by feeder ship. As a result, a change of custodian is triggered through an automated process and no export transaction is initiated. The manifest also notifies the departure terminal of the planned transhipment and provides status messages along the way. This allows the terminal to optimize internal processes as well.
In the long term, the solution has the potential to make a significant contribution to relieving road congestion and the current situation of truck drivers. Indeed, transhipment plays a substantial role in the Port of Hamburg. The Hanseatic city performs a central function as a hub between overseas container traffic and short sea shipping. Accordingly, the Port of Hamburg had approximately 3.3 million TEU of transhipments in 2021, although not every transfer results in a transhipment. "Every container we can move via waterway means a reduction in C02," Geisler says of the speedy success and expects in the longer term, "Ship-based transhipments can take several thousand containers off the road each year."
"Ship-based transhipments can take several thousand containers off the road each year."
