Dear Customers,

We would like to wish you all the best for the year 2026 and much success in both your personal and professional lives. We also look forward to our continued cooperation in the coming year.
 
During the night of 02.01. to 03.01.2026, northern Germany began to be covered by snow. Heavy snowfall and frost then completely paralyzed the Port of Hamburg and brought all handling operations to a standstill. The railway infrastructure is affected by failures of the overhead traction lines and frozen switches.
 
Exports to Hamburg were not accepted, and at Waltershof (Eurogate, CTA, CTB) they are still not being accepted. At the moment, we have 11 export trains standing idle on their way to the port. The last import trains from Hamburg departed on Saturday, 03.01.2026.
 
Port terminals will attempt to resume operations during the course of today. However, there is currently 20 cm of snow on the terminal areas, and today’s forecast predicts an additional 10 cm. As a result, the acceptance of new containers is impossible, and containers from upper stack positions cannot be removed due to the snow layer on them. Railway wagons are covered with snow, which terminal staff will gradually clear so that they can be positioned for container loading.
 
The delays arising during this period will not be easy to recover. We are awaiting current updates from the port terminals in order to decide how we will handle the situation.
 
The ports of Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven are currently operating without significant restrictions.
 
We will continue to keep you informed.

METRANS Team