Discussion with 20 Representatives of the Port Industry and NPorts
Wilhelmshaven, 28. September 2026
At the invitation of WHV e.V., Lower Saxony Minister for Economic Affairs Grant Hendrik Tonne visited Wilhelmshaven on 24 September 2026 to attend the members’ dialogue organised by WHV e.V. at the Officers’ Mess on the military site. The Minister addressed questions from the port industry on a number of pressing issues.
One of the most significant issues for the industrial and port development of Wilhelmshaven is the Jade Energy (TES/DGGEV) project to develop a facility for the handling and production of hydrogen. With regard to the permitting procedure, which has been ongoing for several years, WHV e.V. expressed concern that the remediation of the development plan, as required by the Higher Regional Court, could be delayed due to the illness of several key figures within the city administration and the recent mayoral election. In this context, WHV e.V. asked the Minister to request that the state-owned JadeWeserPort-Marketing GmbH & Co. KG (JWP-M) proactively submit the designated compensation areas, including their spatial allocation and an implementation timeline, to the city in advance. This measure would give the city administration some much-needed time to swiftly address the requirements imposed by the Higher Regional Court following the handover to the new Mayor, Dr Haarmann.
The Minister was not only very receptive to this proposal but also reported that he had already raised the matter at a previous JWP-M supervisory board meeting. He had asked the various stakeholders to actively engage with one another, regardless of whether it was formally their turn to act. The priority now, he emphasised, was to work together quickly and in a spirit of trust to prepare and implement the necessary steps.
Jade Energy, which also participated in the discussion, thanked the Minister for this information and his clear position. It stressed that, as a next step, Jade Energy needed to receive a binding date from the city and JWP-M by which all regulatory requirements would be fulfilled. This would enable the project developer to continue its constructive discussions with the Trade Supervisory Office, which form the basis for the facility’s eventual commissioning.
Another topic of particular importance to businesses located along the Inner Harbour was the new regulations governing the use of the sea lock and the outer harbour. Although this is a matter falling under federal jurisdiction, the representatives of the affected businesses in attendance asked the Minister for his support. An initial meeting between representatives of the Navy and the port industry, initiated by WHV e.V., had resulted in a postponement of the new regulations until 31 December 2026. However, a mutually acceptable solution must also be found for the period beyond that date. One initial step could be to restore the former First Entrance to operational condition, at least enabling smaller vessels to enter the Inner Harbour smoothly and cost-effectively. Discussions with the Navy would also need to be reopened regarding the necessity of tug assistance for smaller vessels and their accompanying pilotage requirements. The Minister agreed to address this issue, particularly since a thriving Inner Harbour is also an important source of revenue for the state-owned company NPorts, which must be protected.
Another topic raised was port supervision and the port authority, whose local presence is considered insufficient by some of the larger privately operated ports in particular. NPorts is unable to provide assistance in this regard, as its port supervision services cannot act without the necessary statutory authority. For regulatory purposes, responsibility currently lies with the Lower Saxony State Authority for Road Construction and Transport (NLStBV) in Oldenburg. However, the current arrangement does not appear to be optimally organised, as the companies concerned are experiencing difficulties in obtaining timely responses and information on important port security matters.
Here, too, the Minister demonstrated that he was well informed about the issue. He confirmed that the problem was known and that improvements were already being worked on. He asked for a little more patience, as the matter was not entirely straightforward and would also require coordination with the Ministry of the Interior. The state is fully aware of its responsibility in this area and will provide improvements in the foreseeable future. WHV e.V. also requested that it be informed at an early stage so that any potential reorganisation could be communicated to its member companies without delay.
WHV e.V., together with the company representatives in attendance, thanked the Minister for his constructive responses and for the time he had made available for the discussion.