CAPTION:Frank Dreeke of the Association of German Seaport Operators. (picture alliance/dpa/archive)
Germany's ports are set to make a technical leap forward in coming years. Thanks to digitalisation, automatic and autonomous vessels and cargo handling technologies will find their way into the ports, said Frank Dreeke of the Association of German Seaport Operators.
The German port industry is extremely efficient, innovative and optimistic, the association president said Wednesday in the city of Hamburg. The sector is investing hundreds of millions of euros every year to improve its competitiveness.
When exactly autonomous vessels, cranes and trans-shipment facilities will be introduced at German terminals is not yet clear, but progress is quickly being made, Dreeke said. There are still technical and legal questions that need to be addressed.
Cargo handling in German ports is largely stable. For several years now, some 300 million tonnes of goods have been handled in the 22 seaports between the communities of Emden and Ueckermuende, with only small fluctuations upward or downward.
Dreeke spoke of possible growth in coming years, but only of 1.5 to 1.7 per cent. The forecasts are disputed, however, as logistics experts have struggled to estimate the impact that protectionist US policies and Brexit will have on the transport of maritime goods.
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