Material impacts, risks and opportunities
Subtopic |
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Sub-subtopic |
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Risk |
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Impacts and dependencies on ecosystem services |
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Sediment management |
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Siltation / sand accumulation in the river Elbe can produce adverse financial impacts in the short, medium and long term due to the threat to the location posed by an inability to access, or limited access to, the Port of Hamburg. |
Sediment management and business model
The Port of Hamburg is a tidal seaport located approximately 120 kilometres inland from the North Sea. This geographical location offers the advantage that goods can be transported far inland using container mega-ships, an energy-efficient carrier.
The required depths of the navigation channel and the terminal berths are directly linked to the Elbe ecosystem. The inflow and outflow volumes and the tidal volume of the river Elbe influence sediment management and water depth maintenance in the navigation channel and the Port of Hamburg. If insufficient water depth maintenance leads to sediment deposits in the approach channel to the Port of Hamburg or at the berths, this results in draught restrictions for ships entering and leaving the berths, as well as operational restrictions in handling activities, meaning that the nautical advantages of the draughts approved in the planning process cannot be exploited in full and, as a result, it may be the case that less cargo can be shipped both to and from Hamburg.