The port of Hamburg serves about half of all exports and imports of Germany. And as the German economy is one of the strongest in the world, its ships must too have gigantic proportions. The port operates year-round, 24 hours a day, non-stop, but some ships, especially the large ones, still try not to sail at night as the maneuvers in the port area are dangerous even in daylight.
To feel the atmosphere of this place here's a short report from the scene. It covers only one morning hour which turned out to be really busy.
Morning, 6-45 am. The MSC Mira is one of the first ships which go out of the port. Being 277m in length it carefully passes some small cargo ship...
And goes on sailing escorted by a tug and a pilot boat.
But it can't gain enough speed because right near the wall of the Airbus plant the monster from Hyundai is moored. Besides, there is another giant on its way which also comes into the port.
The situation is clear to the captain of a small ferry. Skipping the container ship, he rushes at full speed through the formed "gate" when it's still possible.
And while the ferry was being moored, ships successfully passed each other, and there appeared another giant - the Hammersmith Bridge, 336 m in length.
At that very moment a small cargo ship managed to cross the river at full speed right under the nose of the monster. The yellow one is the ferry carrying the workers of the Airbus plant.
Though the passengers got off the ferry has to wait until the hulk sails by.
On the other side of the river another ferry squeezes into the corridor between the two vessels.
But going to the port Hammersmith Bridge can't yet relax - straight ahead there is another giant and on the right is a spit.
A small ferry quickly leaves a dangerous place.
And the two heavyweights carefully pass each other.
The 349-meter COSCO Oceania is coming to the territory of the Airbus...
...where it has to pass even a larger ship.
The MSC Alexandra, 366 m in length.
Both ferries have to wait till the whopper passes by.
The captain of the Alexandra has to pass another ship leaving the port.
And only then it finally begins looking for the free parking place.
And this is one of the most photographed vehicles - the Rio de Janeiro ship of the Hamburg Süd company. Its length is 274 m.
The captain of a ferry takes a risk and passes really close to it.
After a while, followed by container ships, a rather unusual vehicle appears. Two ferries skip right under its nose at once.
And this is a pretty rare guest here (comparing with container ships). It's the 180-meter Hoegh Oslo of the Höegh Autoliners company.
7-45 am. The movement subsides, and the ferry, without any problems, delivers another batch of aircraft manufacturers to the industrial park - a new working day begins for them.
But life in the port never stops.
Additional difficulties are caused by aircraft which fly very low over the river when landing.
Plus the constantly changing depth of the bottom. That's why several dredgers are constantly working here.
The panorama.
Being unloaded and loaded, the giants start their next voyage.
After which all repeats all over agagin - the same dangerous gaps and heavy traffic in the port of Hamburg.
