Lotsenhaus

At Seemannshöft we can see the vessel traffic service centre (the modern, low rise building) of the Hamburg Port Authority, as well as the historic Lotsenhaus (lit: pilot house). The open tidal harbour of Hamburg is covered by high-power radar stations and an Automatic Identification System for the identification of sea vessels, of which all the information is gathered at the vessel traffic service centre. The Hamburg Port Authority can thus impart information on particular traffic routes and mooring berths back to the ships, piloting them from the vessel traffic service centre. As a traffic control centre, it grants incoming ships entry to the harbour and issues them with mooring berths. Then the harbour pilots take over and accompany the ships to and from their assigned spots. The red-brick building is the operational building of c 75 harbour pilots. They and c 25 modern assistant tugboats with a bollard pull of up to 80 tons ensure the safe manoeuvring of the ocean giants along the quays and into navigable water on the Elbe.