Why Submarines Are Causing Traffic Jams in Hamburg

Submarines, corvettes and cargo ships are not the usual cause of traffic around Hamburg’s television tower. This week, however, the city is hosting SMM, the world’s largest shipbuilding trade fair, held every two years.

Up to 50,000 visitors from around 70 countries are expected at the exhibition halls through Friday. Many can be spotted in the Karolinenviertel in blue suits, comfortable shoes and white visitor badges that remain around their necks late into the night.

The mood reflects a broader boom in global shipbuilding. Germany has recorded the industry’s second-highest order intake in its history, according to Reinhard Lüken of the German Shipbuilding and Ocean Industries Association. Northern German shipyards employ 17,100 people, 2,400 more than a year earlier, according to an IG Metall survey of works councils. Companies plan to create another 1,700 jobs this year.

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We have really strong tailwinds.

Demand for cruise ships and superyachts supports the expansion, while military shipbuilding provides its biggest boost. Military contracts now account for more than half of shipbuilders’ orders. Germany holds about 30 percent of the global superyacht market through companies including Abeking & Rasmussen and Lürssen.

Hamburg, however, is receiving less of the military surge than expected. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced in June that the procurement and construction of the six F126 frigates would end. Some of the work had been expected at Blohm+Voss, while Rheinmetall had planned up to 500 jobs in the city. Union leader Daniel Friedrich said that hiring plan is now on hold and that Blohm+Voss has paused its expected upswing.

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The outlook is as good as it has rarely been in the past four decades.