International Cargo Seaport: Port of Bremerhaven

Due to their geographical benefits, many countries in Western, Central, and Northern Europe that have direct access to marine trade have participated in such activity until now. One of such ports that utilize this geographical location is the Port of Bremerhaven, a port in Northern Germany renowned for its importance in connecting Germany with other countries in terms of marine trade routes.

About Port of Bremerhaven

The Port of Bremerhaven is located in the city of Bremerhaven, which lies in the mouth of the River Weser in the north of Bremen, the second largest city in Northern Germany after Hamburg.

Due to the relatively close distance between Bremen and Bremerhaven, all existing ports are mainly built in Bremerhaven which possesses direct access to the North Sea that in turn makes Bremerhaven one of the most important sea trade hubs in Central and Northern Europe.

The History

Since the medieval ages, the ports in the northern coasts of Germany such as the ones in Bremen and Bremerhaven have been famous for their extremely significant ports for the surrounding marine trade routes. The Port of Bremerhaven began its operations in 1410, while the port itself eventually became a municipality in 1827 which remained as the status of the port until now.

Due to its significant importance, many parts of the port remain untouched by the Allied air strikes during World War II since it could provide a major spot to supply the logistics of the Allied Occupation Forces in Germany once the war concluded.

As soon as the war ended, starting from the 1950s, the port expanded its number of container facilities and other infrastructures that eventually made up the entirety of cargo-related facilities in the port.

Volume of Transaction in Port of Bremerhaven

In the year 2020, in terms of port calls and gross tonnage, the majority of the numbers are dominated by container vessels that amount to 60% with 119.799.000 GT (gross tonnage). The total figures are then followed by general cargo vessels (13.720.000 GT), Ro-ro/car carriers (52.868.000 GT), tankers (2.053.000 GT), and others (1.965.000 GT).

In Bremerhaven, many commodities occupy the total amount of inbound and outbound seaborne freight throughput. In 2020, the largest amount of commodities that passed to and from Bremerhaven are ores and non-metallic materials (4.656.000 tons), coke and refined petroleum products (1.744.000 tons), vehicles (1.218.000 tons), and agriculture, forestry and fishing products (418.000 tons).

Interesting Facts

With a history that spans hundreds of years, the Port of Bremerhaven is one of the most historically important ports in Germany. Many parts of Germany’s maritime heritage lie in this port, where such a legacy of prowess remains in effect considering the port’s level of activeness.

A unique fact of the port is the port’s historical involvement in providing access to emigrants from Europe who were seeking new lives in the United States. Because of the thousands of emigrants who in the past used the port to go to ships that would bring them elsewhere, the museum of the German Emigration Center was founded close to the port to commemorate the port’s role in helping thousands of emigrants from Europe to seek better livelihoods.