German North Sea ports - Together towards the future

"German North Sea ports - Together towards the future" was the heading under which business representatives and the heads of the ministries responsible for ports discussed the future positioning of the German North Sea ports. This is because port policy is not only being considered at federal level; new port development plans are also currently being drawn up in Bremen and Hamburg. In Lower Saxony, a paper describing the ports' prospects for the coming decade was recently drawn up.

In all federal states, the discussions are characterized by the same objectives: it is about competitiveness, especially compared to the nationally strongly supported locations in Belgium, the Netherlands and France, and it is about expanding the infrastructure. It became clear at the event that the major future topics of energy security, climate neutrality, digitalization and automation are also becoming key areas of port policy.

In order to master these tasks, the National Ports Strategy must offer significantly more support for the ports. At the same time, the port locations are required to work closely together to master the challenges ahead.

Against this backdrop, the port locations will provide additional impetus for close port cooperation with further joint event formats.

"The development of a new national port strategy is absolutely necessary in the current situation. Only if the federal and state governments, as well as the port and transport industry, work closely together can the ports ensure Germany's security of supply and energy independence. Bremen and the other coastal states will continue to live up to their responsibility and invest in port infrastructure. At the same time, we expect the federal government to make an appropriate contribution," says Dr. Claudia Schilling, Senator for Science and Ports.

Michael Westhagemann, Senator for Economics and Innovation: "We have to become faster. The framework conditions must be right. Only then will we all develop the future of the ports together. And only then will our ports become energy hubs and only then will we succeed in achieving climate neutrality."

Dr. Berend Lindner, State Secretary of Lower Saxony's Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Transport and Digitalization: "An efficient transport network and well-developed infrastructure are essential for the ports of northern Germany. In order to strengthen the competitiveness of our seaports in comparison to the western ports, infrastructure projects must be further accelerated. The current example of the planning and realization of the LNG jetty in Wilhelmshaven clearly shows that it is possible to implement major projects in a timely manner. The Federal LNG Acceleration Act provides the decisive legal framework for this."