The Hamburg Port continues to prohibit entry to sizable vessels.

The top hub for handling goods in Germany, the Port of Hamburg, won't be accepting big ships on Thursday due to a warning strike. The protest started on Wednesday during the late shift at the Hamburg Port Authority, as part of the public sector's work stoppages with a motto of "We are the gold of the city!". The strike is predicted to last until 6:00 a.m. on Friday.

On Wednesday morning, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) put a stop to ships that needed pilots by closing the Elbe. This meant that the Hamburg port became off-limits. The closure was necessary because of the long journey from the Elbe to the port, which could take up to eight hours. If vessels were delayed, they would not make it to the port before the strike began at 5:30 pm. The Verdi union, who organized the strike, aimed to halt the pilot transfer boats, which allowed pilots to reach the ships.

The HPA spokesperson informed that because of the warning strikes, there will be significant limitations. Therefore, the Elbe will be inaccessible for large vessels that require a pilot from 10 a.m. onwards on the day of the announcement. This closure will remain until further notice, and it is only for those ships that are 90 meters long or 13 meters wide.

As per the data provided by HPA, the closure of port is causing trouble for nearly 18 ships that were en route to Hamburg. The list of ships docked at the terminal highlights the presence of some of the mammoth container ships, including the "Cosco Shipping Nebula," "Tihama," and "Eugen Maersk," that have a length of approximately 400 meters. The representative mentioned that they don't have the exact calculation yet, as the authorities need to be informed two to four hours before their scheduled departure.

The most essential hub for handling freight in Germany is the Port of Hamburg. Over 50 handling facilities manage roughly 130 million tons of seaborne products every year. Ships of various sizes, from large container and bulk carriers to oil and chemical tankers, as well as smaller feeder and inland vessels, can all find space on the 290 berths available.

However, there shouldn't be any significant traffic congestion during the strike alert. Boats that are farther out may slow down to avoid being affected by the warning strike. Some may wait in the German Bight or alter their path entirely and stop at a different port beforehand, as stated.