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Important key numbers from the length of the quay to its container railroad station.
Precision work for exports
German cars for export find their way all over the world via O’Swaldkai in the heart of the Port of Hamburg. The recipe for success consists of sophisticated logistics combined with individual care for each vehicle.
The warning lights blink at the level crossing and road traffic comes to a halt as the red shunting locomotive pulls at least a dozen double-decker railcars across Hamburg’s O’Swaldkai terminal. These are loaded with Volkswagens wrapped in white, and silver Audis in protective foil, bound for all sorts of overseas destinations. Half a dozen drivers and two checkers are already waiting for the car train at the unloading track. They climb out of the flame-red Polos, in which they have sought shelter from the icy blast in the port, slipping into white disposable overalls. Not a spot must be left on the upholstery of these luxury cars!
A ramp is brought up, the securing wedges against the tyres of the vehicles removed, and already the first Touareg roll off the train. Checkers with rolls of adhesive labels hanging out of their pockets give each vehicle a distinctive identification. Along with barcodes, their adhesive labels show a number reconciled with the chassis number on the windscreen. Clammy fingers feed the figures into a scanner that immediately radios these to the data network. Only now can the ORVs be moved to one of the numerous parking spaces.
A year like never before
HHLA’s 78-hectare multi-function terminal has space for up to 7,000 vehicles and is at the heart of vehicle logistics. Gleaming luxury limousines, the manufacturers’ latest models, stand alongside massive mobile cranes and agricultural machines, rows of white trucks alongside several hundred used vehicles already awaited by buyers in West Africa. Last year about 78,400 new and 72,000 used vehicles were shipped from here, as well as around 91,500 standard containers and 102,000 tons of heavy and general cargoes.
“There has never been a year like it,” reminisces Michael Sieck, Managing Director of HHLA’s Unikai Lagerei und Speditionsgesellschaft affiliate. His company was fortunately geared to growth, having rebuilt parking areas and the entire terminal traffic system in good time. Sieck attributes volume growth primarily to Italian shipping company Grimaldi’s 49 percent stake in Unikai since 2007. In January 2008 Grimaldi switched the America service of its expanding subsidiary ACL to Hamburg, making the Hanseatic City one of the central European hubs for wheeled cargo.
Punctuality guaranteed
O’Swaldkai is directly meshed into the all the main trades operated by RoRo (roll-on, roll-off) vessels. 342 ship departures were already recorded here in 2008. “We are a universal port, with extremely short transit times – that’s what makes the difference for the major car manufacturers,” explains Sieck. Unikai lives from car industry port contracts, meeting the requirements in these as precisely as possible. “Generally, their deliveries to us are chaotic. Vehicles for Nigeria, Korea, Kuwait and Brazil will appear on one car train. Sorting only starts with us in Hamburg.” If requested to do so by Liebherr Group, for instance, Unikai’s forwarding department will take over export Customs formalities and shipment.
Automobile logistics may involve large quantities, yet each vehicle calls for precise, individual treatment. The car manufacturers send the rough template, the precision work is done by Unikai. That only functions with effective and well networked software. Michael Harth not only has a view of most of the parking spaces from his office window; on the PC on his desk he can also retrieve details for each car separately. Before the car train is unloaded at the terminal, Volkswagen has already transmitted the data to the system. As the cars are checked in, their arrival and any damage are recorded, while later the data helps in the compilation of appropriate stowage plans for ships of various types. As Operations Manager, Harth has to keep his eye on two aspects: the big picture guaranteeing punctuality and reliability, and the mass of changes that throw everything into disarray again. With white snowflakes on his shoulders as he comes into the office, ship’s planners like Rüdiger Bols assist Harth with this.
Port's own hub for car export
Meanwhile it is snowing outside, there are delays and yet again Unikai has to adjust its plans. “Shipping happens at sea,” comments Harth drily, “but you only know whether a ship is coming when she’s there.” These two men have to coordinate the tasks of up to 200 staff. First of all, they scrutinize the general data from Antwerp delivered by Grimaldi’s central stowage planning department for the ship now arriving. Cars need to go onto the ship in reverse order, i.e., with those for the final port first. If possible, to save space vehicles of the same model should be lined up together. Unfortunately the vehicle transporters for which planning is now in progress do not serve all the destinations that are waiting for Volkswagens. That makes Unikai’s job even more complicated. Some Touareg are bound for Xingang in China. They wait at a container storage area on the quay wall, then to disappear one after another into a long row of the steel boxes. Hamburg is fortunately a port offering regular liner services with virtually all regions of the world. The Touareg, for instance, will set off on voyage aboard the “CMA CGM Ivanhoe” from HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai just a few days later.
O’Swaldkai also serves as the port’s internal hub for car exports. Container moves within the Port of Hamburg are normally done by truck, which can cause traffic jams at peak times. Ingenious Unikai staffers have thought up a solution here that spares the environment and cuts costs. Special inland waterway craft are loaded with about 200 standard containers (TEU), rendering more than 100 truck tours superfluous each time. Up to 1,600 TEU accumulate each week and since inland waterway craft emit 70 percent less carbon dioxide than trucks, about 330 tons of carbon dioxide emissions are avoided annually.
Today, however, Rüdiger Bols has nothing to do with inland waterway ships. Looming in front of him in the snow flurries are the massive outlines of the white-yellow “Grande Brasile”. A vast black hole yawns at the stern of the RoRo ship, all the cargo being fed into this across its ramp. On Deck 4 a traffic marshal uses the stowage plan to wave on ORVs. The drivers cautiously manoeuvre into the narrow parking spaces. They need to be capable of driving anything on wheels that moves, from a Mercedes S-class to a combine harvester. “We lash these choice limos with special stretch belts so that the aluminium wheel rims are not damaged,” explains Rüdiger Bols. “With some, the key must not be left in the vehicle, others may not be parked sideways on the ship … we do everything!“ Vehicle logistics is of course a labour-intensive business. Checkers use scanners to re-check the adhesive labels on the closely packed Tiguan and Touareg. The display of the scanner switches from Status 45 (ready to load) to Status 50 (on board). The destination port can now be read: Paranagua, Brazil. The Grimaldi ship will soon be closing her stern ramp. Then the Volkswagens will start their long passage to South America.