Lower Saxony's seaports record significant growth

Inke Onnen-Lübben, Managing Director of the port marketing company Seaports of Niedersachsen GmbH: "2015 was an extremely positive year for our seaports overall, with increased cargo volumes both in the high value-added general cargo sector and in bulk cargo handling, which is important for the supply of raw materials to industry. Thanks to the versatile orientation of our Lower Saxony port group and the successful development of niche markets, we have been able to hold our own very well in the face of current economic and political developments around the world. We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to maintain this high level of throughput in the current year."

The following picture emerges from an individual analysis of seaborne cargo handling at the nine seaport locations in Lower Saxony:

At the seaport of Brake, the total handling volume in maritime transport increased by 7% to around 6.72 million tons of goods (6.27 million tons in 2014). General cargo handling, which in Brake is mainly characterized by steel and forestry products as well as wind energy components, grew by 6 % to around 1.84 million tons (1.74 million tons in 2014). Seaborne handling of grain and animal feed increased by 9%, totaling around 3.75 million tons in 2015 (3.43 million tons in 2014). Increased investment in handling facilities and internal process optimization should make the port of Brake fit for the future in a highly competitive environment. Stable handling business is expected for 2016.

Cuxhaven continues to assert itself as an important automobile shipping port and can point to an increase of 6% in this business segment in 2015 with a total of 414,669 new vehicles handled in maritime transport (392,389 new vehicles in 2014). In total, around 2.64 million tons of cargo were handled in maritime transport in Cuxhaven in 2015 (2.7 million tons in 2014). Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to a decrease of 2 %, which is mainly due to a decline in the offshore business. In 2015, there were significantly fewer offshore wind projects on the market that could be handled via Cuxhaven as a base port. In the short term, the handling of offshore wind energy components via Cuxhaven will develop significantly positively due to upcoming offshore projects and not least due to companies moving to the port.

A new record was also set in Emden for the handling of new vehicles: 1,406,807 seaborne vehicles handled in 2015 represents an increase of 7% compared to the previous year (1,310,317 new vehicles in 2014). The record is primarily due to the high level of exports to the UK and the North American continent. In terms of handling general cargo, which includes wind energy components, project cargo and forestry products, the seaport on the Ems achieved a seaborne volume of 2.64 million tons, an increase of 5 % (2.52 million tons in 2014). However, with a total handling volume in maritime transport of around 4.3 million tons of goods in 2015, the port of Emden recorded a slight decrease of 2% compared to 2014 (4.37 million tons in 2014). This is due to declining volumes in the handling of solid bulk goods (- 28 % / 634,308 tons in 2015; 876,320 tons in 2015).

The seaport of Nordenham recorded growth of 2 % in the handling of maritime traffic in 2015 to a total of around 2.69 million tons of goods (2.64 million tons in 2014). Increasing volumes of coal (+ 15 % / 1.47 million tons in 2015; 1.27 million tons in 2014), ores (+ 9 % / 181,902 tons in 2015; 166,302 tons in 2014) and mineral oil products (+ 13 % / 272,113 tons in 2015; 240,613 tons in 2014) contributed to this in particular. At around 8,000 tons in 2015, the handling of submarine cables for the offshore wind energy industry also increased again compared to the previous year (+ 14% / 7,000 tons in 2014).

In Stade, the handling volume in maritime transport grew by 5 % in 2015 to a total of around 5.85 million tons (5.58 million tons in 2014). This positive development was primarily due to increases in handling volumes for both dry and liquid bulk goods. For example, handling of chemical products increased by 5% to 2.68 million tons (2.57 million tons in 2014). In addition, the handling volume of solid bulk goods, which in Stade include bauxite, aluminum oxide and aluminum hydroxide as well as building materials, rose by 5 % to around 3.16 million tons (3.0 million tons in 2014). A stable business situation is expected at the seaport of Stade for the current year.

The total handling volume in Wilhelmshaven rose by 20 % in 2015 to around 29 million tons (24.2 million tons in 2014). The result was driven by growth in the handling of solid and liquid bulk goods as well as general cargo. Crude oil handling, for example, grew by 6% from 18.59 million tons in 2014 to around 19.66 million tons in 2015, while coal handling increased by 17% to around 3.64 million tons (3.11 million tons in 2014). A total of around 4.32 million tons of general cargo was handled (520,307 tons in 2014). The significant growth in container handling is particularly noticeable here. A total of 426,751 TEU were handled at Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven last year (67,076 TEU in 2014).

The port of Leer recorded a seaborne handling volume of 38,524 tons in 2015, a significant improvement on 2014 (24,291 tons in 2014). In 2015, 307,441 tons were handled in inland traffic, which is important for the port. Agricultural products, mineral oils and building materials are among the main goods handled at the port of Leer.

The Port of Oldenburg handled 82,150 tons of maritime traffic last year (96,164 tons in 2014). In combined sea and inland transport, the handling volume amounted to around 1.0 million tons (1.13 million tons in 2014). Large volumes of building materials that were handled via the Port of Oldenburg for a major regional construction project in 2014 had a special effect on the statistics that could not be repeated in 2015. The shift from transportation to trucks due to low diesel prices is another reason for the minus in the overall statistics for the Port of Oldenburg. Against the backdrop of ongoing investments in infrastructure and superstructures, such as a new turning point in the port by the public sector and investments by the private port industry in the further optimization of handling, cargo volumes in Oldenburg are expected to increase again in the medium term.

In Papenburg, the volume of seaborne cargo handled in 2015 increased by 19% to 586,827 tons (491,813 tons in 2014). Both the handling of solid bulk goods and general cargo recorded growth. A total of 699,484 tons were moved in combined sea and inland transport (617,189 tons in 2014).

In the picture, from left: Folker Kielgast, Managing Director of Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG; Holger Banik, Managing Director of Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG; Inke Onnen-Lübben, Managing Director of Seaports of Niedersachsen GmbH; Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony's Minister for Economic Affairs, Labor and Transport