01 Water Surface

Around a sixth (640 hectares) of the areas of NPorts consist of water areas – in and in front of our ports. One of our most important tasks is keeping our ports navigable at any time. We perform the required dredge work as gently and sustainably as possible. To protect the quality of the water, we employ preventative measures to avoid waste from cargo residues entering the water. In our effort to remove waste from the water, we get supported by our Seabins. Increasingly, we operate our water-bound port equipment with lubrication agents that are bio-degradable. To ensure that ships’ wastes are not disposed of on the high seas, we have established special management systems. In addition, we create special financial incentives for ship owners to encourage proper waste disposal. 

02 Port Entrance

NPorts connects the world with Niedersachsen via the port entrance: Through five seaports, seven island supply ports, and three regional ports. No matter if large or small – after entering through the port entrance, Niedersachsen's Port Ordinance applies to everyone. All ships have to report in and out at the Port Office. From our data collection, we can deduce important trends about the development of the worldwide transport and delivery movements and about passenger transport volumes. One important task is keeping the port entrances stormproof and navigable. In many places we operate locks so that our ports can be reached, regardless of tide level. With our measures, we secure and support countless value chains.  Even the vital supply of the East Frisian Islands depends on the condition that the ports can be reached, ideally in any kind of weather.  

03 Hinterland

The cargoes that are transshipped through our ports consist of the goods that Niedersachsen's and the national economy exchange with other countries in the international trade. To us, hinterland means the catchment area for the flow of goods that are transshipped via our ports. Transportation between business locations and the port is performed by three modes of transport: Barge, rail, and truck. It is our task to make sure that the interface between the different modes is working. In doing so, we are naturally placing an emphasis on eco-friendly modes of transportation and we are continually investing in the quality of our port rail systems. NPorts maintains its own rail grid of 79 km in length.

04 Land Surfaces

We own some 2,000 hectares of port area. We develop these areas for business use and market them towards the industrial and commercial settlement of companies with an affinity to the port. The leasing of areas is one of our core fields of business. Energy-efficient lighting, the restoration of contaminated areas, and the issue of land sealing are some of the challenges that we are confronting head-on. With every new berth, we are creating areas and new transshipment opportunities for our customers. 
To counteract the construction measures, we are creating compensation areas in the vicinity of the ports. NPorts tends to some 930 hectares of areas dedicated to nature conservation. We even care about the near-natural design of areas not in use, e.g., as flowering meadows and grass strips. 

05 Workshops and Offices

NPorts’ inventory comprises hundreds of buildings: Offices, workshops, boat sheds, warehouses, cold stores, and even bunkers and rail switch towers. Many buildings are contemporary witnesses of the ports’ history, and some of them are protected under preservation order. Which makes us face some challenges when it comes to energy-efficient building restoration. Wherever structurally feasible, we are installing photovoltaic (PV) systems or put green areas on or around the buildings. Our buildings are the work environment for some 700 people at NPorts. Therefore, this station also takes up topics that showcase us as a good employer. With our measures for occupational safety, continuing and further education, reconcilability of job and family, as well as a good culture and communication, we are creating an attractive work environment for our employees.

06 Quay Facility

Quay facilities are at the core of each port. Here is, where the water meets the land. Every year, NPorts registers in excess of 41,000 ships’ calls in its ports. To make this happen, the facilities must be in shipshape, and our processes must flow into each other without friction. We maintain our quays on a total length of 26 km. This includes regular servicing works, checks, and restoration – all the way down to the bottom of the port basin. To monitor the buildings under water, we deploy our own divers and innovative technologies. This includes digital 3-D photography to give us an update of the current state of the building below and above water. We are currently testing in a pilot project, how we can avoid averages, i.e., accidents at the quay, with the help of sensor-based mooring assistance systems that are built into the quay facilities. 

07 Cargo Handling

Cargo handling is the factor that we use to measure the performance of our ports. The cargo handling volume alternates dynamically and depicts the business development in terms of quantity and the variety of goods: For instance, breakbulk items such as wind turbines, vehicles, and lumber, or bulk cargo, like coal, chemicals, and grain – each commodity needs its own cargo handling technique and type of facility. Our ports are considered ‘allround ports’ and can cover any kind of cargo handling. With our sustainable infrastructure planning, NPorts takes a far-reaching glance into the future: What will the cargo streams of the future look like? It is our task and our responsibility toward the economy and society, to make the right decisions at the right juncture and to streamline the logistics processes.