Modernization of Berth at Seaport Brake

The Port of Brake is one of Germany’s most important specialist ports and a central logistics hub for Northern Europe, particularly as a leading import gateway for agricultural goods and pulp. Thanks to its location on the deep-water channel of the Lower Weser and its state-of-the-art infrastructure, it enables the efficient handling of large vessels from across the globe, which collectively move millions of tons of bulk and general cargo for the European industry each year. 

The state-owned port authority Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG, Brake branch, invested around EUR 10 million in the Port of Brake. In line with the sustainability strategy adopted by the state government of Lower Saxony, the project focused on adapting the existing infrastructure to meet the future demands of maritime logistics.

The Port of Brake is a historically evolved specialist port. Located only 26 kilometres from the North Sea, its deep-water quays allow for the efficient handling of large-vessel deliveries from around the world. The individually installed mooring dolphin piles of the South Pier showed significant cross-sectional weakening in the tidal zone due to corrosion, making comprehensive rehabilitation essential to ensure continued safe operations. As the operator of Lower Saxony’s port infrastructure, NPorts therefore carried out an extensive modernization and refurbishment program between 2020 and 2023, focusing on the fender systems and mooring dolphins. A key element of these efforts consisted of complex civil engineering works along the 450-meter South Pier—performed during ongoing port operations—to safeguard the long-term competitiveness of the site for global logistics.

As external project management, ONP provided comprehensive support to the NPorts project team in the technical and administrative implementation of this rehabilitation measure. In accordance with the project handbook, we ensured high-quality execution from planning to completion through seamless coordination, including the following services:

• Project and Construction Management: Overall coordination of the construction works as well as extensive advisory and information services.
• Design Coordination: Overall coordination among all design- and planning stakeholders, including technical review and approval of execution drawings.
• Technical Management and Documentation: Processing of change notifications and supplementary claims, along with comprehensive documentation of all processes to provide a transparent project history.
• Supervision and Monitoring: Ensuring execution in accordance with the generally accepted rules of engineering practice.

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