New Kaiserschleuse lock strengthens Bremerhaven

Three and half years after work first commenced, Bremen’s ports are celebrating the completion of a major maritime project: 900 invited guests from the spheres of economics, politics and society attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Kaiserschleuse on 29 April. The structure is 305 metres long and has a passage width of 55 metres, making it suitable even for the largest vehicle ships of today and the future. The planning and construction costs were estimated at 233 million Euros.


The Kaiserschleuse, built in 1897, had performed its tasks reliably for around 100 years, but it ended up being too small and narrow for the ever larger and wider vehicle transporters. While the northern lock completed around 80 years ago continues to meet shipping company requirements, the old Kaiserschleuse could only take ships measuring up to 185 metres long and 25 metres wide.


An automotive master plan compiled a few years ago by port company bremenports identified an urgent need for a new and significantly larger Kaiserschleuse. This assessment, based on intensive talks with shipowner, vehicle manufacturers, logisticians and handling companies, laid the foundations for the Senate decisions to build the new lock. Bremerhaven now once again has two efficient port accesses. The 230-metre-long FIDELIO, owned by the shipping line Wallenius Wilhelmsen, was the first vehicle carrier to pass through the new lock.


BLG and Mercedes signed a new contract in the lead-up to the inauguration, and Daimler AG will, in future, also control overseas exports via the Bremerhaven car terminal. Dr. Holger Scherr, manager of worldwide transport logistics at Daimler, and the BLG executive board member Manfred Kuhr similarly signed a new three-year deal, which includes the importing of Mercedes vehicles from the US production plant in Vance, Alabama. These are collected and technically processed in Bremerhaven, before being distributed to the dealers/Daimler branches. The logistician for Mercedes and BMW conducted talks with BLG and Bremen’s port senator at the time, suggesting the Kaiserschleuse be upgraded to ensure quick handling of ships and guarantee process reliability.


Daimler and BLG are also prepared to control further increasing handling volumes via Bremerhaven in future.
(Source:http://www.transportweekly.com)