page_title: Transport in Germany
section_title: Water transport
hierarchical_section_title: Transport in Germany / Water transport
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Zwei Schiffe in Docks im Hamburger Hafen. English: Two ships in Hamburg Harbour. Ship name: Merwedijk Flag: The Netherlands IMO Number: 9242986 MMSI Number: 245448000 Callsign: PFCN Length: 132 m Beam: 20 m Ship name: Josef Möbius Flag: Germany IMO Number: 7360162 MMSI Number: 21138590 Callsign: DPWT Length: 118 m Beam: 19 m
context_page_description: As a densely populated country in a central location in Europe and with a developed economy, Germany has a dense and modern transport infrastructure.
  The first highway system to have been built, the extensive German Autobahn network famously has no general speed limit for light vehicles. The country's most important waterway is the river Rhine. The largest port is that of Hamburg. Frankfurt Airport is a major international airport and European transport hub. Air travel is used for greater distances within Germany but faces competition from the state-owned Deutsche Bahn's rail network. High-speed trains called ICE connect cities for passenger travel with speeds up to 300 km/h. Many German cities have rapid transit systems and public transport is available in most areas. Buses have historically only played a marginal role in long distance passenger service, as all routes directly competing with rail services were technically outlawed by a law dating to 1935. Only in 2012 was this law officially amended and thus a long distance bus market has also emerged in Germany since then.
context_section_description: Waterways: 7,467 km (2013); major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea and one of the busiest waterways in the world, the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal links Rotterdam on the North Sea with the Black Sea. It passes through the highest point reachable by ocean-going vessels from the sea. The Canal has gained importance for leisure cruises in addition to cargo traffic.
  Pipelines: oil 2,400 km (2013)
  Ports and harbours: Berlin, Bonn, Brake, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Cologne, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Emden, Fürth, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Kiel, Lübeck, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Nuremberg, Oldenburg, Rostock, Stuttgart, Wilhelmshaven
  The port of Hamburg is the largest sea-harbour in Germany and ranks #3 in Europe (after Rotterdam and Antwerpen), #17 worldwide (2016), in total container traffic.
  Merchant marine:
  total: 427 ships 
  Ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 6, cargo ship 51, chemical tanker 15, container ship 298, Liquified Gas Carrier 6, passenger ship 4, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off ship 6 (2010 est.)
  Ferries operate mostly between mainland Germany and its islands, serving both tourism and freight transport. Car ferries also operate across the Baltic Sea to the Nordic countries, Russia and the Baltic countries. Rail ferries operate across the Fehmahrnbelt,  from Rostock to Sweden (both carrying passenger trains) and from the Mukran port in Sassnitz on the island of Rügen to numerous Baltic Sea destinations  (freight only).
caption: Port of Hamburg
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