Duisburg’s inland port has joined the Verein Hafen Hamburg Marketing organisation, which supports Germany’s largest seaport, Hamburg, in its marketing and communication efforts.
“With Duisburg as our newest member, we now have the opportunity to offer our customers a broader range of transport solutions from the Port of Hamburg,” said Axel Mattern, managing director at Hafen Hamburg Marketing. He added that both parties will benefit from the partnership.
The cooperation between the ports of Hamburg and Duisburg is expected to bring significant synergies to both locations. The two ports plan to collaborate on climate protection and shift freight traffic towards waterways and railways.
“To promote more sustainable and efficient transport logistics, the waterway and rail systems need to be further expanded and modernised. By working together, we will enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of both logistics hubs,” said Markus Bangen, CEO of the Port of Duisburg.
The Port of Hamburg is the third-largest seaport in Europe. In 2023, it handled 114.3 million tonnes of cargo, including 7.7 million TEUs of container throughput.
In contrast, the Port of Duisburg is one of Europe’s most important inland ports and serves as a key logistics hub.
However, in recent years, the Port of Hamburg has lost ground to the two largest ports in Europe—Antwerp and Rotterdam. Establishing a partnership with the Rhine port of Duisburg is one of the recent steps taken to regain Hamburg’s leading position in Europe. Just last week, it was announced that global shipowner MSC would acquire nearly 50 per cent of HHLA, the operator of the Port of Hamburg. MSC has committed to increasing its throughput at the port on the Elbe by 1 million TEUs annually from 2030 onwards.