Hamburg, Germany
Sea freight in Hamburg
We book FCL and LCL sea freight for shippers and consignees in Hamburg, via Port of Hamburg. Pre-carriage, on-carriage by road or rail and the customs entries are planned together with the ocean booking.
Airports, seaports and connections in Hamburg
- AirportHamburg Airport
HAM - AirportFrankfurt
FRAroad feeder - SeaportPort of HamburgGermany's largest seaport
Hamburg Airport (HAM) handles air cargo mainly in the bellies of passenger aircraft, which suits smaller urgent consignments to European and selected long-haul destinations. Heavier or larger air freight from Hamburg is usually trucked to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) under a road feeder service to reach its freighter network. For sea freight, the city itself is the gateway: the Port of Hamburg is Germany's largest seaport, with container terminals such as Burchardkai, Altenwerder and Tollerort, and Bremerhaven is the second option on the North Sea coast.
Hamburg sits where the A1 (Bremen, Ruhr), A7 (Hanover, Denmark), A23, A24 (Berlin) and A25 meet. The port is served by an extensive port railway that moves containers to and from inland terminals across Germany, Central and Eastern Europe. Inland waterway links via the Elbe and the Elbe-Lateral Canal connect the port with the hinterland, and road feeder trucks link HAM and the port with Frankfurt for air connections.
Operational logistics facts for Hamburg
| Hub | Specialisation | Local advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Port of Hamburg (container terminals) | FCL/LCL to and from Asia, the Americas and Scandinavia | Sea freight and German customs clearance handled in the same shipment file |
| Hamburg Airport (HAM) | Belly cargo on passenger flights, urgent smaller consignments | Short first-mile distances for city and port-area shippers |
| Road feeder HAM to FRA | Heavier air freight connecting to freighter flights | Access to Frankfurt freighter capacity without a separate booking in Hamburg |
| Aviation cluster Finkenwerder and airport | AOG and aircraft spare parts | NFO and On-Board Courier for time-critical aerospace components |
Industries in Hamburg and how we support them
Hamburg's economy is shaped by the port: importers, wholesale and consumer-goods traders bring in containers from Asia and the Americas and distribute them across Northern Europe. The second pillar is aviation, with Airbus final assembly in Finkenwerder and Lufthansa Technik's maintenance base at the airport, which generates a steady demand for urgent aircraft parts (AOG). Ziem Logistics supports these supply chains with FCL and LCL sea freight via Hamburg terminals, Next Flight Out and On-Board Courier for AOG parts, air freight under our own air waybills, and import and export customs clearance handled by our own customs team.
From the port to your door in Hamburg
We arrange collection of the container or the LCL cargo at Port of Hamburg, customs clearance and delivery to your site in the Hamburg area. For exports we organise the pick-up and the delivery to the terminal before the cut-off.
Customs clearance in Germany
In-house customs team
Customs clearance in Germany is handled by our own in-house customs team.
For air freight to and from Germany we issue our own air waybills.
Importers in Germany need an EORI number issued by German Customs.
Frequently asked questions
Which port is used for sea freight to and from Hamburg?
Usually Port of Hamburg. Depending on the shipping line and the destination, another port can be faster or more economical; we compare the options when quoting.