Shipping : Germany

As a major exporting and importing country, the Federal Republic of Germany has a merchant fleet of its own. It is one of the safest and most modern fleets in the world and on 31 December 1996 comprised 749 vessels with a gross tonnage of 5.74 million. Two thirds of the ships are less than ten years old. Germany is one of the leaders in the field of container and roll-on, roll-off traffic.

The country’s seaports (the largest being Hamburg, Bremen/Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Liibeck and Rostock) have been able to hold their own in international competition. They have remained competitive by investing heavily in infrastructure and port facilities. German ports are “fast ports” in which even large seagoing vessels can be unloaded and reloaded in a short time.