Niedersachsenkai. This new port facility for the handling of iron & steel products, wind mill component, project cargoes and heavy lifts at the port of Brake has been put in operation.
After about three years time of construction by the state owned port development company “Niedersachsen Ports” and the J. Mueller group of companies the new terminal was officially named by the prime minister of Niedersachsen Mr. Christian Wulff on August 10th, 2009.
In its first phase of construction the Niedersachsenkai provides 270 meters of quay and a paved open storage area of 100.000 square meters as well as three cranes of up to 140 tons lifting capacity. Four buffer rail tracks outside the terminal will serve six terminal tracks including two rail sidings which are directly linked with the pier. This ensures the fast on/off-loading and turnaround of railcars and enables the terminal to receive and store large quantities of iron and steel cargoes for im- and export.
Presently vessels up to 11, 90 meters (39 feet) can be handled at the Niedersachsenkai. During the year 2011 a correction of the river bed of the Lower Weser will increase the draft up to 12,80 meters (42 feet) and will offer sufficient draft to completely load modern “handy-size” and small “pan-max size” vessels.
For a number of years Brake has been one of the major ports in Germany to handle on-shore wind mill components and is continuously increasing this business segment. In average approximately 100 blades, 50 tower segments and 60 wind mill turbines are stored in the port.
In order to handle heavy lifts and project cargoes a port mobile crane with 140 tons lifting capacity is available. Two gantry crane bridges of each 60 tons are used for the handling of iron and steel products.
In addition the new terminal offers excellent conditions as a consolidation and assembling place of industrial plants for export shipments. The hindrance free access from the back area to the pier allows the handling of extremely heavy parts.
The medium and long term target of Niedersachsen Ports and J. Mueller is to encourage companies with port related activities to settle in the nearby hinterland of the port. For this purpose Niedersachsen Ports offers up to 100 hectares of fully developed real estate for industrial use and the settlement of port related industries or logistic projects.
In March 2010 the construction of the second pier by a further 180 meter has started. In the 2nd quarter of 2011 a total 450 meters of quay will provide two berths for large scale vessels.
As a result of the ongoing port extension a further positive effect can be seen at the existing port facilities. J. Mueller Agri Terminal, Brake – a leading terminal operator of feed stuffs and grain products in Europe – is actively developing the handling of further groups of bulk materials. Furthermore the planned extension of the Agri Terminal with the addition of a second berth is a prime target for the near future.
