The Port of Hamburg has completed the widening of the entrance to the Vorhafen harbour basin, clearing the way for larger container vessels.

According to the port, the completion of the project expands the diameter of the manoeuvring space in the Tollerort area to 450m and allows the passage of ships with a beam up to 400m rather than 370m.

“The widened Vorhafen basin entrance has made vessel traffic management more efficient, easier to plan and safer,” said Jens Meier, chairman of the management board of the Hamburg Port Authority. “With the now optimized waterside access we have added another important piece to the port’s infrastructure that will further increase the competitive edge of the Port of Hamburg and benefit both container shipping and cruise shipping.”

The Vorhafen harbour basin provides access to the cargo terminals in Steinwerder.

As part of the project, the soil of a four-hectare site was excavated, new foreshore structures were built on the northern Tollerort river banks and a quay wall structure measuring approximately 160m in length was built at Lotsenhöft, according to the HPA.