Jahresbericht 2009 - Gesellschaft für Maritime Technik eV

Flottenkommando Fakten und Zahlen 2009
1.6 Germany’s Maritime Dependency -
Facts and Figures
1.6.1 Germany as a Location for Maritime Business
The maritime industry and the transport of industrial goods and raw materials by sea, by
coastal and inland waterways is vitally important for the competitiveness of our export-oriented
national economy. The field of ocean shipping and maritime industry represents a significant
economic factor. It is of crucial importance for stability in Germany and absolutely essential for
international competitiveness.
Germany is a resource-poor, yet export-oriented country and relies on successful foreign
trade. In 2008, more than 20% of German foreign trade was carried by sea. 72% of the total
imports value of German foreign trade came from Europe, 58.4% of which came from EU-27
countries. The remaining value is attributed to Asia (16.1%), the NAFTA states (North American
Free Trade Agreement – between the USA, Canada und Mexico – 6.6%), Africa (2.5%), Latin
America (2.3%) and Australia/Oceania (0.4%). A percentage of 0.1% is made up by countries
that were not ascertained. As regards exports, 75% of the total value went to Europe, 63.6%
thereof to EU-27 countries.
With more than 380,000 employees and a turnover of nearly 50 billion EUR, the maritime
economy is one of Germany’s most important and progressive branches of economy. It has
developed into an economy sector with considerable growth potential and is of major
importance for Germany’s competitiveness as a technology, production and logistics base.
Germany ranks among the largest and most successful centers for shipping worldwide. The
German merchant fleet is the second largest in the world (3,476 ships). With respect to container
ships (1,644) and marketing of these it is even number one. This development is effectively
supported by the tonnage tax, the withholding of wage tax at source, the new ship manning
directive and the Act for the adjustment of technical and fiscal conditions in shipping to the
international standard (Schiffssicherheitsanpassungsgesetz). The German merchant fleet is a
determining factor in the EU and the basis for safeguarding Germany’s security policy and
foreign trade interests. In a way it is a strategic factor for the security of our country.
The German port industries are a key guarantor for Germany’s international
competitiveness. The ports are of major importance as logistic service centers and industrial sites.
Some 2.7 million personnel work in the logistics sector; about 500,000 jobs are directly or
indirectly dependent on ports. Well over 320 million tons of goods were handled in 2008, and
according to growth prognoses the container transshipment will have doubled by 2015.
Owing to high-quality products and innovative developments Germany takes a leading
position in the global shipbuilding industry. Shipyards and the shipbuilding supplier
industry achieve a sales volume of more than 20 billion EUR and give employment to some
100,000 people, well over 23,600 of them at German shipyards. Furthermore, transportation by
modern, highly energy-efficient ships makes a considerable contribution to reducing the
environmental pollution caused by the movement of goods.
Marine research and marine technology are among the high-tech sectors. Knowledge of
the maritime resources and their sustainable use offers great growth opportunities for the
marine technology industry, the share of which in the 150 billion EUR worldwide market
potential is currently only 3.5 billion EU, i.e. 2.3%. Nevertheless this field is of great importance
due to the high future potential that lies in the extraction of raw materials from the sea. By
concentrating on system solutions, especially in the areas of offshore oil and gas technology and
in deep sea technology, Germany has good prospects to benefit from the global growth of this
sector.
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