Three months before the Bundestag elections scheduled for 23 February, German seaports have renewed their call for the federal government to make a significantly greater commitment to port infrastructure. The primary funding to be provided by the federal government to ports for the refurbishment of outdated facilities, or the construction of new areas for offshore wind turbines or hydrogen import terminals, should increase from the current grant of 38 million euros per year, which has remained unchanged for 14 years, to 500 million euros. That is the view of Angela Titzrath, President of the German Association of Seaport Operators (ZDS), which she stated at the association's annual press conference in Hamburg.

„We firmly expect that this increase must also be reflected in the coalition agreement of a new government in the spring – anyone who lets infrastructure fall into disrepair is damaging the economy and future generations, said Titzrath, who is also Chairwoman of the Executive Board of the Hamburg port logistics group HHLA, which is majority-owned by the City of Hamburg.

Port infrastructure, including quay walls and the port railway, is predominantly in the hands of the coastal states or under municipal responsibility. However, these are financially overstretched with future requirements, especially as the ports have nationwide significance.

Titzrath emphasised the strategic importance of the seaports, and referred to their role in supplying the economy and consumers, in energy supply, and in security policy issues. „We cannot afford a policy that only recognises the social value of something when it no longer works," she said. This is particularly true for the German ports.

The national port strategy adopted by the recently collapsed coalition government in Berlin may recognise the need for more funding, but concrete measures have yet to be taken, she argued. Germany's future will also be decided in the seaports. „We need a quick agreement and concrete plans in the election programmes, and later in the contract of a new coalition in Berlin, especially on the crucial issue of seaport financing", she said. The adequate financing of transport routes and port infrastructure is a basic function of the state action.

In addition to the economic cycle-dependent handling of goods, which stagnated in German ports in the first half of 2024, at around 136.3 million tonnes, the ZDS President expressed concern about current political developments. In many countries, a relapse into protectionism and a reorientation towards supposed national strength can be observed. However, the answer to economic problems does not lie in compartmentalisation.

It is precisely the free movement of goods that creates and secures prosperity. „We need to dismantle barriers and push ahead with renegotiated free trade agreements such as those with India and Latin America,“ said Titzrath. Recklessly imposed special tariffs, such as those imposed on electric cars from China, were causing immense damage, not least to our own economy.

Meanwhile, the controversial acquisition of HHLA by the world's largest shipping group MSC is moving along in Hamburg. All regulatory approvals for the minority shareholding of 49.9% have been obtained, the port group announced. The proceeds from the transaction, which is to be completed by the end of the year, and a capital increase by MSC, are intended to enable investments of almost half a billion euros in the modernisation of HHLA – without additional taxpayers' money.