WASHINGTON: Shipping companies, forwarders, shippers and the entire transport and logistics sector can now inform themselves about the Port of Hamburg and its portfolio of services in Chinese. The Port of Hamburg says it is now doing justice to the People’s Republic’s immense significance as a trading partner of Germany’s largest seaport with its Chinese website www.hafen-hamburg.de/cn
“China is by a wide margin the Port of Hamburg’s most important trading partner. We aim to do justice to this by now offering our Internet presence, not just in German and English as the language of shipping, but also in Chinese. On our travels in China we have found that language still frequently forms a barrier to communication. We aim to reduce this and to facilitate immediate access to comprehensive data on the Port of Hamburg for our Chinese partners and customers through our Chinese Internet presence,” comments Axel Mattern, Joint CEO of Port of Hamburg Marketing. “The new language version of the Port of Hamburg website is a logical extension of our already very comprehensive range of information.”
The data on Port of Hamburg Marketing’s Chinese-language website is not confined to facts and information on the North German port. Numerous search functions assist interested users to open up contacts with potential service providers. Mattern: “We hope that this results in more direct and effective networking between Chinese and German companies.” For instance, the integrated PORTlog logistics portal contains over 1,000 company profiles from Hamburg and the Metropolitan Region, ranging from specialized cargo handling and warehousing companies to packing stations, container depots, transport companies, ship suppliers and many others. Around 120 liner services connect the Port of Hamburg with over 1,000 destinations all over the world. The complete liner network is displayed on the Port of Hamburg’s Chinese website. Using a port search function, all overseas and feeder services serving the relevant destination from Hamburg can be displayed. In addition, details of the local liner agencies, handling facilities and sailing frequencies are given.
A further invaluable feature is the intermodal database. Port of Hamburg Marketing here displays all freight train services via Hamburg into the European hinterland and even as far as China. A country or city search will select block-train links and give details of suitable providers as well as contact data and departure frequencies. The Port of Hamburg is Europe’s largest rail port, offering shippers over 1,900 container block-train connections per week.
China is by a wide margin the Port of Hamburg’s strongest trading partner, with a share of around 29 percent in total container throughput for the Elbe port. About 50 percent of German foreign trade with China is handled via Hamburg. In addition, Hamburg tranships large quantities of freight to or from China’s international hinterland. In 2015 Hamburg handled 23.6 million tons of exports from the People’s Republic of China plus 2.5 million TEU bound for the country. Hamburg is currently linked with Chinese ports by 17 liner services including 13 container liner services. These include COSCO and China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL), both with their European head offices in Hamburg. Since March 2016 they have combined their container shipping activities under the China COSCO umbrella.
Port of Hamburg Marketing maintains Representative Offices in China in Hong Kong and Shanghai. These cultivate close contacts with Chinese logistics and shipping companies, trade and industry, associations and the authorities. In addition, Hamburg is in port partnerships with Shanghai and Shenzhen.
