Passau, 21 March 2023 – Despite 2022 being a difficult year, bayernhafen Passau showed what it was capable of, with 278,138 tonnes of goods moved by inland waterway and rail. This amounted to a saving of over 16,000 truck journeys through the shifting of long-distance traffic to the more environmentally friendly transport modes of inland waterways and rail. bayernhafen handled a total of almost 9 million tonnes of goods across its six locations in Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau.

In 2022, 175,087 tonnes of goods were moved by inland waterway at Passau, 14.8% less than in the previous year. This was caused by a decrease in the handling of road salt due to the mild, low-snow winter of 2021/22. The handling of maize also fell as a result of the poor harvest in the hot and dry summer of 2022. A lack of freight capacity was also felt as shipping capacity was tied up with coal transports on the Rhine and grain transports from Ukraine on the Danube. Agricultural goods accounted for the lion’s share of shipping tonnage at Passau, followed by construction materials, minerals and ores. Heavy-lift/large-volume transport also continued to play a major role at the Passau-Schalding location. The same was true of ro-ro transport, which links Passau via Enns to Vidin and Ruse in Bulgaria. Rail freight transhipment proved to be robust, with 103,051 tonnes in 2022, the same as the previous year (-0.1%). A significant contribution to this was made by the positive development in combined transport. Since February 2021, a daily container train service has been in operation between bayernhafen Passau and the German seaports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Bremen and Wilhelmshaven. In 2022, container throughput amounted to 5,497 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit = standard container unit), an increase of 87%. The container train service is used by companies in the region to export their products, for example from the automotive sector, and to import intermediate products and commercial goods. Cement continues to be an important rail transshipment commodity in Passau.

“Despite the challenges, however, we are seeing considerable interest and a fundamental willingness to expedite the change to inland waterway and rail for transport, not only among our customers but also among companies in Bavaria. We act as the backbone for the supply of goods to society and industry,” Says Joachim Zimmermann, the Chief Executive Officer of bayernhafen. To ensure that bayernhafen remains the first port of call, we will continue to invest in our infrastructure.”

Targeted investment in the development of Schalding and Racklau

In 2022, bayernhafen initiated a €2.5 million investment programme at the Passau location in the redevelopment of its port infrastructure. This includes the construction of a warehouse and garage building in Schalding and the procurement of a wheel loader.

The expansion of the river cruise infrastructure in Racklau has also continued. This is being carried out in close coordination with the city of Passau, which has planning authority. Currently, the berths are being equipped with a shore power system with six charging points for river cruise ships. The draft planning has been completed and the approval process is currently underway. bayernhafen is meeting the investment costs for supplying shore power, with the Free State of Bavaria and the federal government contributing a total of almost €1 million in federal financial aid. While at berth, the cruise ships will then be able to switch off their diesel generators, which will reduce CO₂ and particulate matter emissions, among other things.

We will also be upgrading and significantly improving the water-side infrastructure for the water rescue, fire brigade and water police organisations that have long been based at Racklau. Preparations for this are underway and are being coordinated with the city and the relevant stakeholders.

“It is in bayernhafen’s interest to develop the areas in Racklau intelligently and sustainably. We are fundamentally open to considerations that are feasible and compatible with port operations. In doing so, we pay particular attention to ensuring that there are no restrictions on the infrastructure for shipping,” says Branch Manager, Carsten Conrad. “Furthermore, all plans and ideas must take into account the fact that Racklau is located in area designated as floodplain.”

For 2023, bayernhafen is planning to instigate investments of over €420,000 in Passau, such as in the energy-efficient modernisation of two office buildings at bayernhafen Passau-Schalding.

Recovery in river cruise sector

The river cruise sector saw a recovery in 2022. In 2022, 314 river cruise ships called in at bayernhafen Passau, 25.6% more than in 2021 and the first time this figure had exceeded 300 ships. Due to the low water levels, many river cruise ships were unable to pass the still undeveloped section of the Danube between Straubing and Vilshofen, meaning that passengers were transported by bus between Regensburg and Passau.

Aschaffenburg, 15.03.2023 – Despite 2022 being a difficult year, bayernhafen Aschaffenburg showed what it was capable of: Almost 80,000 truck journeys (around 250 per day) were saved by shifting long-distance traffic to the more environmentally friendly transport modes of inland waterway and rail. bayernhafen moved a total of 9 million tonnes of cargo and freight by inland waterway and rail at its six locations of Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau – at 1.8%, only slightly less than the previous year. The volume of goods handled at the Port of Aschaffenburg was slightly higher in the same period, totalling 1.38 million tonnes.

Rail handling at Aschaffenburg in 2022 amounted to precisely 683,986 tonnes, a slight decrease of 2.6% on the previous year. However, this could have been much greater in view of the prolonged unmanned DB signal box in Aschaffenburg. Despite equally difficult conditions, the volume of goods moved by inland waterway rose by a gratifying 4.5% to 696,865 tonnes, driven by the return of coal transportation. By contrast, the current lack of shipping capacity (about 120,000 tonnes) due to sales to Eastern Europe is causing difficulties. These ships mainly transport grain from Ukraine. Finally, 2022 was a year with severe and prolonged periods of low water due to the hot summer.

“Despite the challenges, however, we are seeing considerable interest and a fundamental willingness to expedite the change to inland waterway and rail for transport, not only among our customers but also among companies in Bavaria. This entails undertaking investments to counter the bottlenecks that have developed. To ensure that bayernhafen remains the first port of call, last year we initiated multi-year investments of €46 million in our port infrastructure – €9.4 million of which was invested in Aschaffenburg alone last year and €3.8 million this year,” says bayernhafen Chief Executive Officer, Joachim Zimmermann, who is also President of the Federal Association of Public Inland Ports.

The return of river cruises after the pandemic is also developing very positively, with 149 ships calling in at bayernhafen piers – a 75% increase on the previous year. The pier at bayernhafen is mainly used by ships that do not want or need to enter the Floßhafen directly, for example purely for boarding and disembarking passengers who are going on bus trips around the region. Despite the recovery, however, the situation for river cruises in general is still tense due to the shortage of personnel: previously many crews and workers were recruited from Ukraine.

Benefits of modal shift for the greater Aschaffenburg area

Shifting HGV traffic to other modes of transport is particularly important for the greater Aschaffenburg area. The share of heavy goods traffic here, as recently reported, is far above the average in Bavaria. Last year, bayernhafen’s customers were able to save around 80,000 HGV journeys in Aschaffenburg by using the more environmentally friendly transport modes of inland waterway and rail. This is also important from an environmental point of view, as 50,000 tonnes less CO₂ end up in the air as a result. The groundwork for further increasing this figure is currently being done in the port at quays 1 and 2.

Extensive investment in the future

Large-scale infrastructure projects are nearing completion at the Port of Aschaffenburg. Among other things, the quay walls at quays 1 and 2 are being completely modernised and a second railway track is being added to the quay. “Our projects are a prime example of how bayernhafen works hand in hand with its customers to modernise the port. We are significantly optimising the use of land for our customers. In addition, we are strengthening bayernhafen’s own trimodal (inland waterway, rail and road) handling facilities here in order to offer our services directly to even more companies outside the port in the future and to shift HGV traffic to inland waterway, for example,” says Alexander Zeiger, Head of Real Estate Management at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg.

Extensive building work is also underway on the other side of the port basin at quay 3. This is being remodelled with new vertical sheet piling and stabilised in such a way that in future it can be navigated by a mobile material handler, which will bring even more flexibility for bayernhafen and its customers. On the way to quay 6, in Stockstadt, the civil engineering work for the second construction phase of the Port Development Project West is nearing completion.

“We act as the backbone for the supply of goods to society and industry. The sums currently invested in our infrastructure, €13.2 million last year and this year alone, are not something to be taken for granted. In view of the rising prices of raw materials and building materials, such large-scale construction projects would probably have already been stopped in other companies. But, in this way, we will not only remain a cargo and freight hub that is key to the supply of goods today, but will also be perceived as an important and attractive location in the future,” says Anja Bokeloh, Head of Technology and Operations at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg

A home for conferences

Since moving to its new offices on Industriestraße at the end of last year, bayernhafen now also has a conference centre in the form of the “Alte Kranhalle” (Old Crane Hall) in Aschaffenburg. The historic industrial monument was lavishly restored and equipped with multifunctional facilities. “At this dynamic location, emotion and functionality, history and modernity form a perfect blend. The conference centre directly in the port closes a gap in the range of conference facilities on offer in Aschaffenburg,” says Alexander Zeiger, Head of Real Estate Management at bayernhafen Aschaffenburg

Bamberg, 14.03.2023 – Despite 2022 being a difficult year, bayernhafen showed what it was capable of: 26,000 truck trips (almost 72 per day) were saved by shifting long-distance traffic to the more environmentally friendly modes of transport, rail and inland waterway. bayernhafen moved a total of 9 million tonnes of cargo and freight by inland waterway and rail at its six locations of Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau – at 1.8%, only slightly less than the previous year.

In 2022, bayernhafen Bamberg moved a total of 446,124 tonnes of goods by inland waterway and rail, around 20% less than in the previous year, more than half of which (261,111 tonnes) was transported by rail. This corresponds to around 26,000 truck journeys saved (approx. 72 trucks daily) and a CO₂ saving of 21,218 tonnes. The combined transport terminal handled 25,763 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit), generally containing important goods needed to supply the region’s industry and population. The terminal connects the Bamberg region with the North Sea ports of Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven thanks to regular train connections and thus makes a decisive contribution towards achieving the modal shift.

The volume of goods handled by inland waterway decreased by 36% to 185,013 tonnes. This was mainly due to three factors. Lack of shipping capacity due to the sale of several ships to Eastern Europe to transport grain from the Ukraine to the Romanian Black Sea ports. Further capacity is in short supply on the Main and Danube between Aschaffenburg and Passau as a result of the tremendous demand for coal transport, especially on the Rhine. And lastly, 2022 was a year with severe and prolonged periods of low water.

“Despite the challenges, however, we are seeing considerable interest and a fundamental willingness to expedite the change to inland waterway and rail for transport, not only among our customers but also among companies in Bavaria. This entails undertaking investments to counter the bottlenecks that have developed. To ensure that bayernhafen remains the first port of call, last year we again initiated around €46 million in multi-year investments in our port infrastructure, and this year we’re adding another €28 million – €6 million in Bamberg alone,” says bayernhafen Chief Executive Officer, Joachim Zimmermann, who is also President of the Federal Association of Public Inland Ports. “We act as the backbone for the supply of goods to society and industry. This function should not be constrained or even harmed,” says Zimmermann.

HVO use gets the go-ahead

One of the most significant investments this year include the location-wide HVO refueling project launched in Bamberg. bayernhafen is taking the next step in sustainability by gradually converting its handling equipment to HVO fuel. HVO stands for hydrotreated vegetable oils, and is also known as hydrogenated vegetable oil. This type of organic fuel can be used to completely replace normal diesel. The use of HVO reduces the total amount of harmful emissions in the life cycle of a machine by around 75%, and practically halves pure CO₂ emissions. The only emissions are what the plant had previously absorbed. This makes the vehicles climate-neutral. Since recycled fats and oils are used, it also means there is no competition with food products. bayernhafen has already made firm plans to extend HVO use to other locations and also assumes that the additional price will fall steadily as HVO use becomes more widespread.

“White fleet” makes a comeback

The return of river cruises after the pandemic is developing very positively, with 784 ships laying anchor at bayernhafen’s piers. “This figure is only 10% less than the comparable year 2019,” says Anja Bokeloh, Head of Technology and Operations at bayernhafen Bamberg. “So we are back on track. Almost 800 cruise ships have already registered for 2023.” Despite the recovery, however, the situation for river cruises in general is still tense due to the shortage of personnel: previously many crews and workers were recruited from Ukraine.

bayernhafen is investing €2 million in the installation of seven shore-power charging points for river cruise and cargo ships. The shore-side power supply connection for hotel ships is scheduled to go into service at Quay 5 at the start of the 2023 season. In addition, electricity charging points for cargo ships are to be installed, enabling bayernhafen Bamberg to make a key contribution to a more energy-efficient future.

Job guarantor and new future-proof businesses

The effect of the port on jobs across the region is considerable and is becoming even more important thanks to the steady influx of new businesses. Over 5,000 people are employed by the companies that use the port directly and that partly rely on its infrastructure. Around 1,800 people currently are employed at the 70 or so companies operating from bayernhafen Bamberg today, and the trend is rising.

Bosch is continuing this trend at bayernhafen Bamberg by inaugurating the new 10,000 m² logistics centre in May 2022. After eleven months of construction, Herbst Logistik GmbH, which carried out the construction of the new building, handed over the logistics centre to the automotive supplier. Bosch has the option for further expansion on an adjoining site.

The Biosyntec tank farm in the port has already been receiving biodiesel by rail from Eastern Europe since mid-2021. After the first full year of operation in 2022, the company is now already planning to significantly expand its activities on the adjacent development area.

Furthermore, this year BayWa will begin the expansion of its construction materials business and the erection of a new timber handling centre on Rheinstrasse.

“In our role as location architects, we constantly engage in dialogue with our clients about their requirements. This allows us to work together to develop tailor-made opportunities for expansion and ultimately develop larger sites for special logistics projects,” says Alexander Zeiger, Head of Real Estate Business at bayernhafen Bamberg.

Heavy-lift expertise at bayernhafen

In December 2022, plenty of helping hands and equipment weighing several tons ensured the smooth heavy-lift transfer of the lock gates to inland waterway. The team from the heavy-lift specialist Felbermayr and Merkel Autokrane loaded the four lock gates, weighing a total of around 120 tonnes, onto barge at bayernhafen Bamberg. From Bamberg, the floating giant headed for the Neckar River, unloading at Horkheim and Deizisau. The lock gates are destined to be used at the Hessigheim lock.

Nuremberg, 14.03.2023 – Despite 2022 being a difficult year, bayernhafen Nürnberg and Roth showed what they were capable of: 250,000 truck trips (almost 700 per day) were saved by shifting long-distance traffic to the more environmentally friendly modes of transport, rail and inland waterway. bayernhafen moved a total of 9 million tonnes of cargo and freight by barge and train at its six locations of Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau – at 1.8%, only slightly less than the previous year.

At bayernhafen Nuremberg, the total volume of goods moved by inland waterway and rail in 2022 amounted to 4.3 million tonnes, an increase of 4.4% on the previous year. Inland waterway volumes at Nuremberg and Roth fell slightly by 2% to 284,000 tonnes. This was mainly due to three factors. Lack of shipping capacity due to the sale of several ships to Eastern Europe to transport grain from Ukraine to the Romanian Black Sea ports. Further capacity is in short supply on the Main and Danube between Aschaffenburg and Passau as a result of the tremendous demand for coal transport, especially on the Rhine. And lastly, 2022 was a year of severe and prolonged periods of low water.

“Despite the challenges, however, we are seeing considerable interest and a fundamental willingness to expedite the shift to inland waterway and rail for transport, not only among our customers but also among companies in Bavaria. This entails undertaking investments to counter the bottlenecks that have developed. To ensure that bayernhafen remains the first port of call, last year we again initiated around €46 million (€30 million of which in Nuremberg) in multi-year investments in our port infrastructure, and this year we’re adding another €28 million,” says bayernhafen Chief Executive Officer, Joachim Zimmermann, who is also President of the Federal Association of Public Inland Ports.

“We act as the backbone for the supply of goods to society and industry. This function should not be constrained or even harmed. That is why we also take a clear position against the construction of an ICE factory in the Nuremberg port basin and the displacement of customers and the loss of hundreds of jobs that this would entail,” says Joachim Zimmermann.

Combined transport remains at high level

At precisely 356,501 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit), bayernhafen Nürnberg could report consistently high levels of combined transport – an increase of 7.7% on the previous year. The development of the first module of the trimodal (road, rail, inland waterway) CT terminal is already in full swing, both on the expansion and existing sites – all while daily operations continue. The public tender for the acquisition of three new container cranes has been issued, and the new reach stacker for mobile stacking and handling of containers has already been delivered. The expansion means that the CT terminal, which since entering into operation in 2006 has now reached the limit of its capacity, will gain a 21% boost in crane capacity.

We are constantly optimising and expanding our intermodal network of seaports and major logistics hubs. From the middle of January 2023, we will be premiering a weekly round trip between the Jade-Weser Port in Wilhelmshaven and Nuremberg,” says Peter Stäblein, the Chief Executive Officer of Hafen Nürnberg-Roth GmbH, the operating company of bayernhafen Nürnberg and bayernhafen Roth.

Significant increase in heavy-lift

In heavy-lift cargo handling, a number of “heavy-weights” were transferred from road to water. Both bayernhafen Nürnberg and bayernhafen Roth loaded a total of more than 13,000 tonnes (up 69% on 2021), involving more than 130 components. In addition to boilers and office & accommodation container modules at bayernhafen Roth, this includes the shipping of numerous transformers, refrigeration units or generators via Nuremberg – anything that is difficult to lift and causes road blockages, but can easily be transported by water.

Investment in the future

In addition to the CT terminal, the most significant bayernhafen investments – in the double-digit millions – include the renovation of the quay facilities at bayernhafen Nürnberg, which is already in progress. At quay 1, the drainage infrastructure of the quay on the Main-Danube Canal is being upgraded to the latest modern standards over a length of 425 metres at a cost of around €2.3 million. This will include the installation of 6 large-scale treatment plants for sedimentation and rainwater filtration. The new rainwater system was designed by bayernhafen itself. The next step is to modernize the road and rail transport facilities at the quay to enable the use of mobile cargo handling equipment. New mobile material handlers have already been ordered for both bayernhafen Nürnberg and bayernhafen Roth.

Optimal infrastructure to attract new businesses and ensure efficient cargo handling

DURMIN Entsorgung und Logistik – “The Green Angels” – has been operating from bayernhafen Nuremberg since 1996. By leasing a 3 ha site at quay 1, where the quays are currently undergoing redevelopment, it is expanding its portfolio to approximately 16 ha. DURMIN intends to invest tens of millions of euros at the new site in a number of processing plants for mineral and non-mineral waste and products. The Green Angels’ 360 employees process waste and ensure that the things we throw away become green again.

In addition, Rhenus Freight Logistics is currently planning a modern warehouse and handling facility of around 10,000 m² on the almost 40,000 m² of available area at quay 2. The preparatory work on the site has been completed, the building permit has been granted, and the project can now enter the implementation phase.

Container terminal at bayernhafen Regensburg significantly expanded

Regensburg, 13 March 2023 – bayernhafen brings together a diverse range of goods and delivers the right infrastructure to meet the challenge of shifting long-distance traffic from the road networks to the two environmentally friendly transport modes of inland waterway and rail. In 2022, bayernhafen moved almost precisely 9 million tonnes of goods by rail and inland waterway via its six locations of Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau – a minimal decrease of 1.8% on the previous year. This corresponds to around 520,000 fewer truck journeys.

In 2022, 2.57 million tonnes of goods were moved by inland waterway and rail at bayernhafen REGENSBURG, amounting to around 92.3% of the volume handled in the previous year.

In 2022, the volume of goods handled by rail at bayernhafen Regensburg was 1.489 million tonnes, 0.4% above the previous year’s level. Regensburg, the leading port in all of Bavaria in the handling of goods by inland waterway, moved 1.083 million tonnes by barge, 16.9% less than in the previous year. Clearly noticeable was the reduction in agricultural goods such as wheat, one of the main commodities transported by barge in Regensburg, as a result of below-average crop yields. There was also a lack of freight capacity because, firstly, less cargo could be transported by river due to prolonged periods of extremely low water and, secondly, shipping capacity was tied up with coal transports on the Rhine and grain transports from Ukraine on the Danube.

There was marked growth in combined transport, which increased 5.7% on the previous year, achieving throughput of 104,734 TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit). In addition to containers for seaport-hinterland traffic, this includes swap bodies and semi-trailers for continental cargo and freight transport.

“Despite the challenges, however, we are seeing considerable interest and a fundamental willingness to expedite the change to inland waterway and rail for transport, not only among our customers but also among companies in Bavaria. To ensure that bayernhafen remains the first port of call, we must continue to invest in our infrastructure, says bayernhafen’s Chief Executive Officer, Joachim Zimmermann.

Reliable supply of goods to the region

In addition to agricultural goods, metal products, ores and building materials are transported by inland waterway from Regensburg. There was a ‘revival’ in 2022 in the handling of coal. High-value heavy-lift cargo such as transformers and wind turbines were also moved by barge. In 2022, more than 100 cable reels were transported to Regensburg via inland waterway and handled and stored by a tracked crane operated by the heavy-lift specialist, Schmidbauer. The cable reels are to be used for transmission system operator TenneT’s SuedOstLink project, which will supply Bavaria with electricity from wind energy generated in the north and east of Germany from 2027 onwards. Rail freight chiefly comprised containers, fuels and construction materials. The supply of heating oil for households and fuels for service stations runs via the VARO tank farm in bayernhafen Regensburg.

First trimodal container terminal in East Bavaria

The expansion of the container terminal at bayernhafen Regensburg has given combined transport a significant boost. The direct connection of the former bi-modal CT terminal (road-rail) to the port basin in the course of the expansion means that inland vessels can now also be directly integrated. This makes bayernhafen Regensburg the only port in the East Bavaria region to have a trimodal container terminal. In addition, a modern, electrically operated container gantry crane was installed. This has increased the handling capacity of the facility operated by CTR Container Terminal Regensburg GmbH, a member of the IGS Logistics Group, which had reached the limits of its capacity, from 128,000 TEU to 200,000 TEU. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport (BMDV).

The investment for the entire project amounts to around €26 million. It also includes the construction of a dispatch centre and the addition of two more handling tracks. The road connections were also improved, enabling a more favourable routing of traffic flows. In addition, the check-in area for truck handling was expanded and processes optimised. These measures significantly reduce the load on the access roads. The redevelopment of the area was accomplished by the departure of another company operating from the port with no need to consume additional port land. The developer is KT-Infrastrukturgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG, a joint venture between IGS and bayernhafen. An efficient logistics infrastructure is indispensable for the highly export-oriented economy in Regensburg and the surrounding region. The container terminal in Regensburg is connected to the North Sea ports in Hamburg and Bremerhaven. bayernhafen Regensburg has a dedicated terminal for the handling of semi-trailers and swap bodies, the Trailer Port.

Investment in infrastructure and projects in 2023

In 2022, bayernhafen continued the high level of investment it had made over the previous years, investing around €3.5 million in Regensburg in the redevelopment of its commercial sites and port infrastructure. A further investment of €10 million is earmarked for 2023. The planned projects include the installation of centralised heating and energy provision for bayernhafen’s office and operations buildings in Linzer Straße. “Following last year’s completion of the flood protection scheme in the waterfront area between the Royal Villa and the Westhafen, another focus is the landscaping of the waterside area connecting the city to the port site, says Carsten Conrad, the Branch Manager of bayernhafen Regensburg. The plan is to continue the re-development of the ‘Danube Promenade’ between Österreicherstadel and Babostraße, to upgrade the western section of the Danube embankment for passenger ships and to optimise the eastern section for cargo handling.

This combination of land and infrastructure makes bayernhafen Regensburg a strong anchor point and a major hub for the exchange of goods for the East Bavarian economy. The key prerequisite for this is the clear demarcation between port and residential areas to ensure good neighbourhood relations. “We need protection for our infrastructure. We act as the backbone for the supply of goods to society and industry. This function should not be constrained or even harmed. From urban residential development to conversion for cultural use, there are numerous issues on our agenda that we firmly oppose,” says Joachim Zimmermann.

bayernhafen has asked a series of relevant questions about the technical feasibility study commissioned by the City of Regensburg on the conversion of the Municipal Warehouse into a creative quarter, but we have to date not received any answers. The Municipal Warehouse is located on land owned by Bayernhafen GmbH & Co. KG and is situated directly in the active port operation area with surrounding use of the existing infrastructure on both the rail and water sides. In addition, zoning plan procedures are ongoing for the west port / oil port with the aim of achieving legal clarity and planning reliability out of a cluster of historically conflicting interests – for the benefit of both the customers of the port and for its neighbours.

Regensburg, 06.03.2023 – Despite 2022 being a difficult year, bayernhafen showed what it was capable of: 520,000 road trips (1,420 per day) were saved by shifting long-distance traffic to the more environmentally friendly modes of transport, rail and inland waterway. bayernhafen moved a total of 9 million tonnes of cargo and freight by inland waterway and rail at its six locations of Aschaffenburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau – at 1.8%, only slightly less than the previous year.

6,559 million tonnes of goods were moved by rail in 2022 – a 2.5% increase on 2021, despite infrastructure issues. Inland waterway handling fell 12% to 2.424 million tonnes. This was caused by three factors. Around 120,000 tonnes of shipping capacity are currently missing due to sales of ships to Eastern Europe, where they are mainly used to transport grain from Ukraine. Further capacity is also lacking on the Main and Danube rivers from Aschaffenburg to Passau due to the enormous amount of returned coal shipments in the Rhine region. Lastly, 2022 was a year of severe and prolonged low water periods due to the hot summer.

“Despite the challenges, however, we are seeing considerable interest and a fundamental willingness to expedite the change to inland waterway and rail for transport, not only among our customers but also among companies in Bavaria. To ensure that bayernhafen remains the first port of call, last year we again initiated around €46 million in multi-year investments in our port infrastructure, and this year we’re adding another €28 million,” says bayernhafen’s Chief Executive Officer, Joachim Zimmermann, who is also President of the Federal Association of Public Inland Ports. “However, the responsibility for ensuring that these investments deliver their full impact at our port locations does not end with us. We need accelerated approvals for our projects and, most importantly, we need protection for our infrastructure. We act as the backbone for the supply of goods to society and industry. This function should not be constrained or even harmed. From urban residential development and conversion for cultural use to the construction of an ICE maintenance plant in the port basin with the associated displacement of customers and loss of jobs, there are numerous issues on our agenda that we firmly oppose,” said Joachim Zimmermann.

Historical record

bayernhafen is proud to report an all-time record in combined transport. For the first time, the number of TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) moved at all of its locations surpassed the half-million mark. The 512,036 TEU (up 4% on the previous year) include seaport-hinterland container transport as well as swap bodies and semi-trailers for continental traffic. The trimodal terminal (road, rail and inland waterway) in Regensburg, which was completed in 2022, and the upcoming expansion of the terminal in Nuremberg mean that there is also room for further growth in the future. Regensburg increased its capacity by more than 50% from 128,000 TEU to 200,000 TEU. €26 million was invested in the expansion of the terminal and a new trimodal gantry crane.

The return of river cruises after the pandemic is also developing very positively, with 2,054 ships calling in at bayernhafen’s piers. This figure is only 16% below the pre-Corona figures from 2019. Despite the recovery, however, the situation for river cruises in general is still strained due to the shortage of personnel: previously many crews and workers were recruited from Ukraine.

“We are pleased to hear many politicians acknowledge that inland ports are systemically important, but these statements must now be followed by decisive action, especially on the part of the German government. Without the logistics hub inland port, the transition to cleaner modes of transport is not feasible. To achieve this, we need a level playing field for all modes of transport. The decades-long neglect of waterways must be brought to an end. Muddling through from budget to budget with increasingly reduced funds is just not acceptable anymore,” says bayernhafen’s Chief Executive Officer, Joachim Zimmerman. “If they truly want to achieve the transition to cleaner modes of transport, policymakers will not only have to accelerate going forward, but actually work at the speed of light, and massively increase the budget allocated to our waterways. There is virtually no spare capacity left on the rail network, and the long overdue modernisation of the DB network will cause additional bottlenecks in the coming years. Where possible, therefore, inland waterway vessels should be used to transport bulk goods rather than trains, so that the freed-up rail capacity can be used for combined transport trains. Barges are also ideal for large-volume and heavy-lift transport.”

Investment in the future

The most significant investments this year include projects in Aschaffenburg and Nuremberg and the location-wide HVO refueling project launched in Bamberg. bayernhafen is taking the next step in sustainability by gradually converting its handling equipment to HVO fuel. HVO stands for hydrotreated vegetable oils, or also hydrogenated vegetable oil. This type of organic fuel can be used to completely replace normal diesel. The use of HVO reduces the total amount of harmful emissions in the life cycle of a machine by around 75%, and practically halves CO₂ emissions, with the only emissions being those the plant had previously absorbed. This makes the vehicles climate-neutral. Since recycled fats and oils are used, it also means there is no competition with the food product sector.

A number of major infrastructure projects are nearing completion at the Port of Aschaffenburg. The projects are a prime example of how bayernhafen works hand in hand with its customers to modernise its ports. The work includes the complete revamping of the quay walls at quays 1 and 2 and the addition of a second rail track at the quay. This will considerably optimise the use of space for customers and, in addition, bayernhafen will significantly strengthen its own trimodal facilities (road, rail and inland waterway), enabling it to offer its services directly to even more companies outside the port in the future.

bayernhafen is also investing a double-digit million figure in its location in Nuremberg. At quay 1, around €2.3 million is being spent on upgrading the drainage infrastructure of the quay on the Main-Danube Canal to the latest modern standards over a length of 425 metres. This will include the installation of 6 large-scale treatment plants for sedimentation and rainwater filtration. The new rainwater system was designed by bayernhafen itself. The next step is to modernise the road and rail transport facilities at the quay to enable the use of mobile cargo handling equipment. This is where bayernhafen can fully exploit the advantage of having its own highly experienced engineering and planning team to implement projects more quickly. Work has already started on the tracks at the trimodal combined transport terminal in Nuremberg. The public tender for three new container cranes is in progress. This expansion is dearly needed as CT terminal is now already operating at the limits of its capacity. The expansion work will increase the capacity of the CT terminal, which was commissioned in 2006, by around 21% to handle 411,000 TEU per year.

Regensburg, 24.01.2023 – bayernhafen is taking an important step forward in sustainability to achieve a massive reduction in CO₂ emissions through the successive conversion of its handling equipment to HVO fuel. The changeover started at the Port of Bamberg with the conversion of two Liebherr material-handling excavators to run successfully on HVO since the end of December.

“We have decided not merely to add HVO to diesel, but to completely rely on the more climate-friendly fuel. We want to make a conscious decision to demonstrate to our industry and the wider world that heavy-lift machinery can also be operated in a CO₂-neutral form,” says Klaus Hohberger, one of the members of bayernhafen’s Management Board.

HVO stands for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils, but is more typically called ‘hydrogenated vegetable oils’. This type of biofuel is capable of completely substituting conventional diesel, and approvals have already been received from a number of machinery and engine manufacturers to use it in existing engines. “Some manufacturers have already made great inroads in this regard. With others, we are still on the case. We have great potential here in Germany. We may even recoup the additional costs of around 10% compared to diesel through the lower AdBlue consumption in exhaust gas purification. This will mean our operating our machines will be both CO₂-emissions free and cost-neutral compared to diesel,” adds Klaus Hohberger.

The basis for HVO is formed by vegetable oils and vegetable fats, which are then synthesized with hydrogen. The use of HVO reduces the total amount of harmful emissions in the life cycle of a machine by around 75%. CO₂ emissions alone are half of those of diesel, with the only emissions being what the plant had previously absorbed, making our vehicles climate-neutral. Soot, nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions are significantly reduced, resulting in lower AdBlue consumption for exhaust gas purification.

The fuel consumption of the material-handling excavators in Bamberg is almost identical to that of diesel. This means a saving of around 23.7 tons of CO₂ per year at the current requirement of 18,000 liters of fuel. bayernhafen has already made firm plans to extend HVO use to other locations and also assumes that the additional price will fall steadily as HVO use becomes more widespread.

Plenty of helping hands and weighty equipment tons ensured the smooth heavy-lift transfer of these lock gates at bayernhafen Bamberg. The transfer of the four lock gates, weighing a total of around 120 tonnes, onto a waiting barge was carried out by skilled team comprising the heavy-lift specialist Felbermayr and Merkel Autokrane.

From Bamberg, the floating giant headed for the Neckar River, stopping off to unload at Horkheim and Deizisau. The lock gates are destined to be used at the Hessigheim lock.

When new buildings are constructed, or existing buildings are renovated or extended, there is a need for fast, high-quality, tailor-made solutions that can be used with great flexibility.

This is where the Cadolzburg-based company, Cadolto, heavy goods specialist Felbermayr and bayernhafen Roth come into play.

A mobile crane loaded the five room modules with great precision onto a barge at the temporary storage depot in bayernhafen Roth, so that the modules, which are up to 18 meters in length, can set off unhindered on their environmentally friendly, water-bourne journey to Bonn.

The modules are destined for the University of Bonn, where they will be used as a so-called ‘rotation building’ to provide flexible laboratory and office space while renovation work is carried out on the university buildings.

bayernhafen is continuing to invest heavily at its Nuremberg location. Work has already begun on the redevelopment of quay 1. The first step will be to upgrade the drainage infrastructure of the quay area on the Main-Danube Canal to the latest modern standards over a length of 425 meters at a cost of around €2.3 million. This will include the installation of 6 large-scale treatment plants for sedimentation and filtration of rainwater. The new rainwater system was designed by bayernhafen itself. In the future, it will be possible to block it off at each individual discharge point by means of electrically operated barriers to prevent contaminated water from entering the Main-Danube Canal.

Next year, the road and rail transport facilities at the quay will also be modernized to enable the use of mobile equipment for cargo handling.