Ports play a key role, both in terms of climate-neutral goods transport and the supply of LNG or hydrogen.
Image: dpa
The energy transition is also a major task for the ports. However, the operators do not want to make the investments alone. The entire industry is now hoping for the “national port strategy” of the traffic light coalition.
Dhe port companies in Germany see a need for billions of euros in investment to make the ports fit for a range of new tasks, above all for the energy transition. The ports play a key role here, both in terms of climate-neutral goods transport and the supply of LNG or hydrogen or the construction of offshore wind farms. Daniel Hosseus warns that far too little attention is being paid at the moment and is therefore sending an SOS. Hosseus is the general manager of the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) and acts as the mouthpiece for a good 150 companies that handle seaborne goods handling on the German coast.
The industry is now hoping for the “National Port Strategy” promised by the traffic light coalition. The project is somewhat hidden in the coalition agreement, but still: the consultation process is starting now. Daniela Kluckert, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, has announced that she will be attending the kick-off event next Wednesday in Berlin. The Minister of Transport himself probably has more important things to do, Hosseus remarked in an interview with the FAZ, clearly disappointed. “Port policy should actually be a top priority,” he says: “There is a lot of talk about ports when it comes to solving problems, be it supply chains during Corona, the grain supply in the Ukraine war or the energy transition. But we could be given more support there.”
