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Historical Review
The Beginnings
1716
Upon a resolution passed by the Ruhrort Council, a silted Ruhr bend is dredged to develop a port basin. The size of the port is approx. 7,000sq.m. It is mainly used for transferring coal mined in the eastern part of the Ruhr region from small barges to Rhine-going ships.
1756
The Kingdom of Prussia which holds fiscal authority over the Ruhr region takes over the port. The port is extended in the decades that follow mainly under the supervision of Ludwig Freiherr von Vincke who is the President of the Province of Westphalia and the Ruhr Shipping Director. During the first half of the 19th century, the inner and the outer ports are built in the neighboring City of Duisburg chiefly upon the initiative of local merchants. Both ports are acquired by the City of Duisburg in 1889. Following connection to the railroad lines and the upswing in the iron and steel industry, Ruhrort and Duisburg continue the extension of their ports. Head-on competition is developing.
From the Turn of the 20th Century to the Foundation of Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen AG
1900 - 1905
Duisburg starts the construction of the Rheinau port. Three large port basins connected to the Rhine are to be built in Neuenkamp. Ruhrort also develops plans for a substantial expansion of its port facilities. The proposed simultaneous extension of the national Ruhrort port and the municipal Duisburg port creates fears that ongoing competition between the two sites will result in overcapacities. These fears terminate competition between the two cities and lead to the establishment of a joint venture on 1 October 1905. The Ruhr Fiscal Authority and the City of Duisburg found Verwaltung der Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen. The arrangement was preceded by a local government power struggle which eventually resulted in the merger of the cities of Duisburg, Ruhrort and Meiderich where the Ruhrort port had spread. Work on the Rheinau port is abandoned.
1903
-1908
The Port Canal and Basins A, B and C as well as the new Duisburg-Ruhrort-Hafen railroad station are completed. The Port Canal also serves as access to the Rhine-Herne Canal which has been under construction since 1906.
1914
The oval Inselhafen port is largely backfilled and the Schleusenhafen port is integrated into the Vincke Canal project. The completion of the Rhine-Herne Canal ties these ports into the West German canal system. Negotiations on the transformation of the Verwaltung der Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen joint venture into a joint-stock company are initiated. It is the declared objective of the incorporation of the port authority to simplify and to accelerate processes in the organization. At the time, all major decisions have to be taken by the County Manager in Düsseldorf and the Minister of Trade in Berlin. The First World War and the political turmoil that follows disrupt this development. The reorganization efforts are only resumed in 1924 mainly as a result of the endeavors deployed by Dr. Karl Jarres who is Mayor of the City of Duisburg and also Minister of the Interior of the German Reich.
1926
On 24 July 1926, the Prussian State Parliament enacts the law for the transfer of the national port facilities in Duisburg to a joint-stock company which creates the legal conditions required for the transformation of the port authority into a joint-stock company. On 30 September 1926, Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen Aktiengesellschaft is entered into Section B of the Duisburg Register of Companies (entry No. 1492), as confirmed by the Registrar of the District Court of Duisburg. Two thirds of the stock are owned by the State of Prussia and one third by the City of Duisburg.
World War Two and the Aftermath
1945
The port and its facilities are devastated, utilities have been disrupted and bridges have been blown up. 313 sunk ships are counted in the port basins. 96 damaged ships are stranded in the Rhine mooring areas and nine wrecks block the Ruhr mouth. Traffic has come to a complete standstill. The Marientor and Schwanentor bridges across the Duisburg ports are destroyed and the series of bridges across the Ruhrort ports which was the busiest bridgeway in West Germany before the War is in ruins. Initial work on the port facilities is temporary to enable early supplies to the local population.
1949
Progress has been made. Oberbürgermeister Lehr Bridge is reopened on 11 March 1949. The arch spanning the Ruhr river was previously part of Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne and was sold to Duisburg after the end of the War for iron vouchers.
The Flourishing Age of the Iron and Steel industry
1950
As the economy of the Federal Republic of Germany recovers fast, the quantity of cargo handled by the ports of Duisburg increases continuously. Structural changes become necessary, though, as oil products develop into the most important source of energy in the Federal Republic of Germany, while coal transfer operations decline. In the Ölinsel area, oil handling and storage facilities are installed and connected by pipeline to refineries in the Ruhr region. Further bulk cargo operations are centered in the Kohleinsel and Schrottinsel parts of the port.
1965
Following ore, oil is the second most important cargo. Coal, iron, steel, gravel and sand, scrap and cereals come next.
1968
Two thirds of Kaiserhafen and all of Hellinghafen and Zollhafen are backfilled, as they obstruct the expansion of the port facilities.
1972
Duisburg becomes a university city. In a city which was a university town between 1655 and 1818, a new university is founded in August 1972.
1980
The old lock between the Rhine-Herne Canal and the ports in the Port Canal no longer satisfies modern nautical requirements. A new lock is built in Meiderich and inaugurated on 7 November 1980.
Changing Times
1982
The Nordhafen port in Hochfeld was for many years exclusively used for gravel movements. After the concentration of gravel operations in the Innenhafen area, no other uses were left. The port is therefore backfilled. A major building material recycler is today located on the site.
1983
The Vincke Canal is extended. Combinations of six barges pushed by a tugboat are tested between the ports of Rotterdam and Duisburg. Modern short sea shipping vessels increasingly carry general cargo, containers and trailers.
1984
The declining importance of German coal sales has been apparent since the seventies, but the efficiency of Ruhrkohle AG’s modern coal blending and loading facility in the Kohleinsel area has allowed the Port of Duisburg to escape this trend. The transshipment of coal, the second most important cargo of the Port, still grows in the mid-eighties. Container shipments which were infrequent on waterways as well as short sea shipping become important operations. In response to this development, the first container terminal (DeCeTe) and a roll-on/roll-off facility are built in the Ruhrort Südhafen area. They are inaugurated on 27 January 1984.
1987
The renewed Ruhr lock is commissioned. The Rhine-Ruhr Terminal is started up in the Parallelhafen area on 27 May 1987. Six-barge combinations are approved by the Dutch Parliament.
The Ruhr Conference: Implementing Structural Change
1988
The structural crisis of the coal, iron and steel industries in the Rhine and Ruhr areas is discussed at the Ruhr Conference held at the offices of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany on 28 February 1988. Financial resources of a total of over 1 billion DM are approved for the region. Duisburg benefits notably. Structural changes initiated during the mid-eighties are accelerated. In the wake of these developments, Duisburg seeks approval of a free port.
1989
A railroad station for combined transportation connected to the main north/south railroad line is developed. The New Free Port and Revised Customs Act takes effect on 1 August 1989. On 21 September 1989, the foundation stone for the free port is laid in the Ruhrort Nordhafen area.
1990
A second roofed loading, unloading and warehousing facility spanning the water is completed in the Ruhrort Südhafen area. DFL Duisburger Freihafen Lagerhaus GmbH & Co. KG renamed DFL Freihafen GmbH is established on 10 July 1990. The first tracks of the combined transportation railroad station are laid on 17 October 1990.
1991
1991 is an important year for the Port of Duisburg. The free port starts its operations, Kühne + Nagel, the international forwarding major, opens Phase I of its Kaßlerfeld Eurologistic Center and a heavy cargo loading facility is inaugurated. The 275th anniversary of the port is celebrated by a fair and other events from 13 to 22 September 1991.
1991 - 1992
The free port starts its operations as scheduled on 2 January 1991. The inauguration of the combined transportation railroad terminal in the Ruhrort Südhafen area in 1992 is another essential move to adapt the Port of Duisburg to the new logistic environment. The terminal integrates waterway, railroad and highway transportation and therefore facilitates the choice of the best mode of transport. Today, the terminal is the point of departure for shipping containers, trailers and other cargo by railroad to some 50 German and non-German destinations.
1993
- 1996
To enhance waterway access to the container terminal and the combined transportation railroad station, the Ruhrort Südhafen shore is reconstructed between 1993 and 1995, Following the transfer of a bulk cargo operator to a new site, the terrain is protected against flooding and a new 700m embankment is built. Conditions are now ideal over about 1km for fast ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship container transfers.
1995
The
350,000sq.m. Innenhafen area is sold to the municipal Innenhafen Duisburg
Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH as of 31 December 1995. The narrow tracts
no longer satisfy the needs of modern logistics operations and will
be redeveloped for urban use.
International Building Exhibition
1989 - 1999
In 1989, the International Emscher Park Building Exhibition organization is commissioned by the Government of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia to modernize urban development and to renew environmental planning in the region between Duisburg and Dortmund. Unlike preceding building exhibitions, the Emscher Park Exhibition does not focus on the presentation of novel trends in building construction or inner city renewals, but on creating more quality of life and enhanced living conditions in an old 800sq.km. industrial region, while maintaining and improving architectural, town development, social and environmental standards.
17 cities and two counties participate in the ten-year project which takes on the dimensions of a major regional planning effort. In Duisburg, a number of industrial monuments which have remained from the coal, iron and steel age are renewed and transformed for modern uses. In the Holzhafen port area, Euro-Gate, a building designed by British star architect Sir Norman Foster, becomes the symbol of modern Duisburg. The building which closely follows the bend of the port line provides a surface area of some 60,000 square meters on 16 floors.
1996
Backfilling of the last third of Kaiserhafen starts. Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen AG purchases the 210,000sq.m. site of the Duisburg copper mill to build a coal receiving terminal.
1997
Port Agency Duisburg GmbH (today duisport agency GmbH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Duisburg-Ruhrorter Häfen AG, is established chiefly for marketing the Duisburg site.
Kaiserhafen backfilling operations continue to the Vincke Canal. The Port of Duisburg is awarded the Inland Port of the Year prize by the Binnenschiffahrt journal on 25 September 1997.
1998
The PCD Packing-Center-Duisburg facility is inaugurated in May 1998 for the seaworthy packing of high-grade goods. On 15 September 1998, Hafen Duisburg-Rheinhausen GmbH is established and the 2 million sq.m. site of the former Krupp steel mill in Rheinhausen is purchased. To develop and market the site, Logport Logistic-Center Duisburg GmbH is set up on 22 December 1998.
1999
As the trend from bulk cargo to higher-grade general cargo continues, the Port of Duisburg must redefine its strategy for the future. The port company develops plans to attract new scheduled services and new cargo to Duisburg and to grow Duisburg into a transportation and distribution hub serving central Europe. Growth markets identified include container and coal importation operations. Further, the Port of Duisburg decides to promote networking with other major ports to increase cargo flows through Duisburg.
New standards set by logport
Shortly after the final decision to close down the Krupp steel mill, the Port of Duisburg expressed its interest in acquiring the site in Rheinhausen for port development. Original plans called for an expansion of the free port or arrangements with logistics operators serving trade and industry. The purchase of the land in 1998 was a milestone in the history of the Port. For the first time, the port spread to the western shore of the Rhine. The transformation of the terrain into a high-grade logistics center constitutes a major challenge.
Initial plans assume that up to 15 years may be required for redevelopment. Logport Logistic-Center Duisburg, the company set up to market the site of the former Krupp steel mill, commences its operations in 1999. New Wave Logistics GmbH, a subsidiary of NYK the major Japanese shipping line, opts for the logport location. Some existing steel mill buildings are converted for the company’s new distribution center and a new warehouse is constructed.
P & O, the British logistics group, and Interspe Hamann, the German forwarder, are also won as logport investors.
In the Ruhrort port area, the Kaiserhafen backfilling operations are completed. They create tracts of 125 acres immediately adjacent to the container terminal and the combined transportation railroad station for future-oriented uses.
During a trip of senior Duisburger Hafen executives to the United States, the Port of Duisburg concludes contracts with the U.S. ports of Memphis and Pittsburgh to promote transportation between the two cities in the United States and the hub on the Rhine. In December 1999, the port operators of Duisburg and Antwerp sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the Belgian city on the Scheldt River. To strengthen ties, the Duisburg port company acquires an interest in a proposed new container terminal in Antwerp. The Government of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia supports collaboration between the two ports and plans the re-activation of the railroad line between the two cities.
2000
duisport Dynamics – Both at the National and the International Levels
During a visit to the logport site on 2 February 2000, Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, is deeply impressed by the progress of structural change. Together with North-Rhine Westphalia’s Prime Minister Wolfgang Clement, he attends a ceremony organized on the occasion of the execution of an agreement which makes arrangements for the future activities of the P & O Group in Rheinhausen. P & O will be the operator of the trimodal Duisburg Intermodal Terminal (DIT) to be built together with Duisburger Hafen AG and a bimodal railroad terminal constructed by Duisburger Hafen AG.
Strategic reorientation and a new corporate culture translate into the new name of Duisburger Hafen AG adopted by the port company on 1 March 2000. The port now markets its services under the "duisport" brand which combines the name of the city and the international term for the company’s functions as a shipping and logistics hub.
duisport and EDM/Zeeland Seaports conclude an agreement in the Dutch city of Middelburg mainly to step up transportation between the two ports. The State of North-Rhine Westphalia and the Province of Zeeland support this cooperation by an addendum to the agreement.
The Port of Duisburg is for the second time voted Inland Port of the Year by the readers of the Binnenschifffahrt journal.
On 5 December 2000, the Latvian Free Port of Ventpils presents its operations in Duisburg. On the occasion of the visit, the two port companies sign an agreement to strengthen ties between the two organizations.
Equally on 5 December 2000, the cabinet of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia meets at the logport site for ministers to gain a personal impression of the progress made by structural change in the region. At the meeting, another major investor is presented. Kühne + Nagel, the international logistics group which operates a distribution center at Logistikpark Kaßlerfeld has decided to go ahead with a new project in Duisburg and plans to build a new logistics center on a 100,000sq.m. property.
The Central European Logistics Hub
2001
Following a successful launch in 2000, the second Logistics Forum Duisburg is held on 14 and 15 February 2001. Over 700 logistics experts from around Europe debate new trends in their industry. In the years to follow the Logistics Forum Duisburg is established as a regular event.
At a press conference on 30 April 2001 attended by North-Rhine Westphalia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise, Energy and Transportation Ernst Schwanhold, Rhenus AG & Co. KG is presented as a new logport investor.
In May 2001, duisport rail GmbH is established as Duisburger Hafen AG’s own railroad company. Apart from links between logport and Ruhrort, the company offers railroad services over a distance of some 50 kilometers around Duisburg.
On 30 May 2001, CM Eurologistik GmbH, a company of the Hamburg Mackprang Group, inaugurates one of Europe’s largest warehouses with mobile racks on the logport site. EUROCenter, an ultramodern railroad logistics center, is transferred by the Duisburger Hafen Group to P&O Trans European for terminal operation on 16 June 2001 (today Wincanton).
2002 – DIT Inauguration
North-Rhine Westphalia’s Prime Minister Wolfgang Clement and Federal Minister of Transportation Kurt Bodewig visit Rheinhausen in autumn 2002 to open the new DIT Duisburg Intermodal Terminal. It constitutes the heart of the logport logistics center. The 120,000sq.m. terminal serves as a trimodal interface between water, rail and road transportation and performs a hinterland hub function for the sea ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp on the North Sea coast. The initial annual capacity of 200,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) can be increased to 400,000 TEU.
Hafen Duisburg-Rheinhausen GmbH, a subsidiary of Duisburger Hafen AG, invested some 30 million € into the new terminal which is owned by the Dortmund-based Rhenus Group (50%), Duisburger Hafen AG (20%), P&O Nedlloyd (15%), Hupac (10%) and the Dutch Heuvelmann Group (5%). The DIT was inaugurated on 1 October 2002.
2003 to 2006
duisport – the new Web site of the Port of Duisburg goes on stream. The Internet platform covers the full range of local port and logistics operations and focuses on customers and their services, www.duisport.de
The ports of Bilbao and Duisburg sign a contract in which they agree to promote traffic between the two locations chiefly by short sea shipping and to support common projects. Similar agreements are later concluded with the ports of Xiamen (China), Dortmund, Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium).
Together with many of its customers, duisport keeps participating in the biannial Munich-based transport logistic trade show which is the largest trade fair of the logistics sector in Europe.
The duisport Group moves to the water. The new offices on Vincke Canal are opened. As the cost of renovating the old structure built over 100 years ago would have been very high the decision was taken to erect a new building.
The logport marshalling yard is constructed. It provides railroad marshalling and classification services for the logport logistic park outside the park proper to save valuable space. A duisport rail shuttle train ties logport in with the terminals on the other side of the Rhine. The duisport public-utility railroad company starts up a shuttle train between Duisburg and Marl which runs every working day, followed by numerous other local and regional services.
A shuttle train to south-eastern Europe begins its operations. The combined transportation service carries cargo five times a week between logport and Vienna and is linked to the North Sea Ports and Great Britain/Ireland as well as to Budapest at the other end. Numerous further railroad and barge shuttle services are developed and connect Duisburg regularly with the sea ports and wide parts of Europe. Over 300 scheduled combined transportation train departures and more than 100 sailings a week underpin Duisburg’s international hub functions.
The automotive business sets up in Duisburg. The public roll-on roll-off facility in logport opens in February 2004 and Cobelfret, the Belgian automobile logistics service provider, deploys purpose-built roll-on roll-off vessels on services from its logport terminal to ports in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. E.H. Harms, the Bremen automobile logistics company, starts up its auto terminal (with a pre-delivery inspection center) in late 2005. A number of other duisport organizations manufacture and distribute parts for the automobile industry.
Over 50 new companies start up duisport operations between 2000 and 2006 and existing port customers expand their business. They generate jobs and create value. At year-end 2006, 17,000 Duisburg jobs depend directly or indirectly on the duisport port and logistics activities. For the region the number is even 36,000.
Container throughput booms. Container volumes grow at annual rates of as much as 37 percent over a number of consecutive years. In 2006, the Port of Duisburg is listed in the top 100 ranking of the world’s largest container ports published by the Container Management journal. In 2005 duisport had for the first time handled more general cargo than bulk cargo and had passed the 700,000 TEU mark. German President Horst Köhler visits the “job machine” in June 2006.
Duisburger Hafen is the first inland port to acquire an interest in a sea port terminal. The company is now one of the shareholders of the Antwerp Gateway Terminal and can therefore influence the way in which cargo is shipped to hinterland destinations. The terminal goes into operation in July 2005 and has its own railroad terminal as well as a separate barge facility.
In early 2006 duisport becomes the owner of logport II, a 60 acre site located on the eastern embankment of the Rhine directly on the river. A logistic park similar to logport I in Duisburg Rheinhausen will be developed at the location of a former metal mill as soon as the site has been prepared for new investors by the end of 2008.
In December 2006 the duisport Group announces the acquisition of the Essen VTS Group as of 1 January 2007. The packaging specialist, a market leader in the mechanical and plant engineering sectors, employs 280 persons and reports annual sales of some 50 million Euros. The services provided by VTS and the cargo generated by the company strengthen the duisport logistic hub mainly in the conventional general cargo segment. The new transportation volumes create business opportunities for port terminals and shipping lines.
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