The German Seaport Association (ZDS) has called on the German government to adopt a more ambitious port policy and increase funding. At the annual press conference in Hamburg at the end of November, ZDS President Angela Titzrath said that the economic and geopolitical challenges of recent years were putting the industry under severe pressure. In the first half of 2024, German ports handled 136.29 million tonnes of cargo, only slightly more than in the same period last year. Container throughput increased by 3.3%, but Titzrath noted that these figures should be seen in the context of the disastrous 2023, the worst in two decades.
ZDS is most concerned about political trends such as increasing protectionism and restrictive measures. Titzrath stressed that closed economies lose out in the long term and called for accelerating the conclusion of new free trade agreements with countries such as India and Latin America. At the same time, the state of Germany’s transport infrastructure is drawing criticism.
“Ports cannot cope with the challenges of the future without significant government support,” Titzrath noted.
ZDS is demanding that the federal government allocate 500 million euros annually for basic financing of ports. This could come from revenues from trading emission certificates and auctions for land leases for offshore wind farms. In addition, a successful energy transition requires investments in new port infrastructure that will enable the processing of wind turbines and the import of green hydrogen.