Simulation · Minimal Logistik · Seaports
Bremerhaven · car terminal and river quay
Bremerhaven as a walkable model: almost five kilometres of river quay for the largest container ships, straddle carriers, car trains and parking for about 95,000 vehicles at the mouth of the Weser.
Real are the location, terrain and buildings (open elevation data, OpenStreetMap) and the public site profile figures. Volumes, rhythms and vehicle numbers are model assumptions, processes accelerated. With your data, the model also shows occupancy per area, car trains per day and dwell time.
The Bremerhaven car terminal and river quay as a running model: at the almost five-kilometre quay at the mouth of the Weser the largest container ships berth, and straddle carriers move the boxes between gantry, stacks and railway. In the basin lies one of the world’s largest car-handling sites, with parking areas and car parks for about 95,000 vehicles.
For export, about 80 % of new cars reach the port by train, on double-deck car transporter wagons. On the parking area the car waits for its ship, then drives on board a car carrier of about 200 m, one by one, over the stern ramp. This is where the supply chain from a plant near Stuttgart ends: assembled in the Kornwestheim marshalling yard, about 700 km north by rail. The model’s long-distance flows run only by rail here – new cars for export and containers to Rhine-Main – while the trucks at the gate stand for regional pre- and on-carriage. Storms, a port strike or weak industry show at once on quay, tracks and parking areas.
Real are the location, terrain and buildings, taken from open elevation data and OpenStreetMap, and the figures in the site profile, taken from public information: 4.9 km of quay with 14 berths, about 4.4 million TEU in 2024, 1.3 to 2 million vehicles a year. Daily volumes, rhythms and vehicle numbers are model assumptions; processes run accelerated. This page is for port and terminal planning, automotive and rail logistics, local authorities and chambers, schools and exhibitions.
A ship in port (riding along, key F)
- 01
waiting at anchor
- 02
coming in
- 03
at the quay: being unloaded and loaded
- 04
leaving
What is shown – why – for whom
| What is shown | Why | For whom |
|---|---|---|
| River quay: about 4.9 km, 14 berths, straddle carriers | WhyShows container handling on the Weser. | For whomTerminal operations, teaching |
| Car terminal with parking areas and car parks for about 95,000 vehicles | WhyShows the stock waiting for ships. | For whomAutomotive logistics, planning |
| Double-deck car trains, about 80 % of exports | WhyShows why rail carries the export trade. | For whomRail logistics, local authorities |
| Car carrier at the quay with stern ramp | WhyShows how thousands of vehicles get on board. | For whomTraining, exhibitions |
| Supply chain ‘New cars → Bremerhaven’ | WhyLinks plant, marshalling yard and port. | For whomEconomic development, public relations |
| Scenario ‘Port strike’, storm and fog | WhyShows the effect on quay and parking areas. | For whomPort industry, associations |
Facilities and areas in the model
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River quay
About 4.9 km of quay with 14 berths for the largest container ships; straddle carriers move boxes between gantry, stack and rail. About 4.4 million TEU in 2024.
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Car terminal
One of the largest car hubs in the world: space for around 95,000 vehicles, 1.3 to 2 million vehicles a year. Fill level follows the node’s stock (model).
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Car carriers at the quay
A car carrier (about 200 m) takes several thousand vehicles; they drive on board one by one over the stern ramp.
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Car trains
For exports around 80 % of new cars reach the port by train (terminal figure); double-deck car transporter wagons.
Processes in the model
A ship in port (riding along, key F)
- 01waiting at anchor
- 02coming in
- 03at the quay: being unloaded and loaded
- 04leaving
A train in the terminal (riding along, key F)
- 01arriving
- 02being loaded
- 03departing
A truck at the gate (riding along, key F)
- 01driving to the gate
- 02check-in at the gate
- 03driving to the loading point
- 04being loaded
- 05leaving
Supply chain ‘New cars → Bremerhaven’ (passes through this site)
- 01A new car from a plant near Stuttgart is bound for overseas
- 02Kornwestheim: car trains are assembled in the marshalling yard – two decks, up to ten new cars per wagon
- 03North by rail: about 700 km to the mouth of the Weser
- 04Bremerhaven: car trains roll into the port – for exports around 80 % of new cars arrive by rail (terminal figure)
- 05Car park: the car waits for its ship. The fill level follows the node’s stock (model)
- 06Up the stern ramp onto the car carrier – bound for overseas. The chain is an example (model)
Try the scenario ‘Port strike’
- 01tap it in the deck
- 02vehicles, yards and traffic-light rings at the site react at once
- 03time 4× shows how it develops
- 04‘Back to today’
How a port with a car terminal can use the model
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Operations and planning
The fill level of the parking areas follows the node’s stock. Adjust the economy or industrial output and you see at once how quay, tracks and car parks fill up or empty.
For whomTerminal operations, port planning, automotive logistics
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Onboarding and training
Ride along with key F: a ship waits at anchor, comes in, is unloaded and loaded at the quay. A train arrives, is loaded and departs. One line says what is happening.
For whomNew staff, port and rail trainees
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Local authorities and economic development
The supply chain ‘New cars → Bremerhaven’ links a plant near Stuttgart with the mouth of the Weser over about 700 km of rail. It shows how far a seaport’s hinterland reaches.
For whomLocal authorities, economic development, chambers
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Schools, universities, museums
Why do most export cars travel to the port by train? What does a straddle carrier do? The model answers both on the site, also in the demo that runs without anyone at the controls.
For whomSchools, universities, museums and exhibitions
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Public communication
The ‘Port strike’ scenario shows at four times the speed how handling stops and ships wait at anchor – and one tap takes you back to today.
For whomPublic relations, port industry, associations
What you can change
Controls
- Economy: How much is produced and traded overall. Acts on all flows of Bremerhaven.
- Consumer demand: Container goods and food for retail. Weight here about 45 % of the volume.
- Industrial output: Raw materials, steel, parts, chemicals. Weight here about 55 % of the volume.
- Transport cost / tolls: Expensive roads shift freight to rail and water. Here 0 % of the volume goes by road.
- Season: Spring: more building materials and seed, raw materials +8 %, food +5 %. Autumn: harvest (food +18 %), Christmas run-up (containers +8 %), first heating oil deliveries. Winter: heating oil and Christmas trade, less road capacity.
Disruptions
- Disruption: Rail strike: Freight trains stand still, trucks and ships take over part, stocks pile up.
- Disruption: Port strike (hits this site hardest): Hardly any handling, ships wait at anchor, containers pile up.
- Extreme weather: Storm, fog (hits this site hardest): Cranes in the seaports stop, ships wait, motorways slower.
- Extreme weather: Snow and ice: Bottlenecks overloaded, canals partly frozen.
What the model gives a seaport
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01
Two ports in one
Container quay and car terminal lie side by side in the model, with straddle carriers on one side and car carriers on the other.
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02
The journey of a new car
From the plant near Stuttgart up the stern ramp: the supply chain shows every handover between rail, parking area and ship.
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03
Stock made visible
The parking areas fill with the node’s stock – the same figure as on the Germany map.
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04
Disruptions without damage
Port strike, storm and fog hit this site hardest, plus rail strike and ice. Trigger them, then return to today.
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05
For visits and big screens
Runs in the browser and on large projections; the site profile shows every part with live values.
Your port as a model
Would you like to see your quay, parking areas or car trains like this? Write or call us and we'll work out which ship, train and stock data the model needs. The password is available on request.
cube4tec.de/spiele/minimal-logistik/
Ask about this
Minimal Logistik: Bremerhaven · Autoterminal und Stromkaje
Basis and limits
Real are the location, terrain and buildings of Bremerhaven (open elevation data and OpenStreetMap) and the figures in the site profile, taken from public information. Daily volumes, rhythms and vehicle numbers are model assumptions in the right order of magnitude; processes run accelerated.
Public sources the model is based on:
- OpenStreetMap contributors: map data (ODbL 1.0)
- OpenFreeMap / OpenMapTiles: vector tiles
- Terrain Tiles, AWS Open Data (Terrarium)
- Encyclopedia: Container Terminal Bremerhaven (river quay, berths)
- Trade press: Bremerhaven increases container throughput in 2025
- Federal Statistical Office: freight transport by mode
- German Environment Agency: freight emission data 2024 (g CO₂e per tonne-kilometre)
More places in the model
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Hamburg · Container Terminal Altenwerder
An automated container terminal as a walkable model: up to 14 container gantries, driverless transport vehicles, the block yard, a rail station for trains up to 740 m and the truck gate.
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Wilhelmshaven · JadeWeserPort and LNG terminal
Germany’s only deep-water port as a walkable model: the container quay on the Jade with straddle carriers and rail, plus the floating LNG terminal, a tank farm and the crude-oil pipeline to the refineries.
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Kornwestheim · intermodal terminal and marshalling yard
A freight station and combined-transport terminal as a walkable model: gantry cranes between train and truck, a marshalling yard that re-forms freight trains, and car trains for export.
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Munich · Riem transhipment station
The transhipment station in the east of Munich as a walkable model: container trains from Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Italy, gantry cranes between train, yard and truck, and the A94 next door.
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Germany · freight flows and nodes
All of Germany as a map of blocks: 27 nodes, 55 freight flows as bands of light, eleven bottlenecks with traffic lights. Controls, seasons, disruptions and ten scenarios change every flow at once, compared with today.
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A trimodal inland port on the Rhine as a walkable model: Rhine barges with sea containers from Rotterdam, gantries and yard, trains to the south, Eastern Europe and Asia, trucks into the region.
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A raw-material chain as a walkable model: push convoys with ore and coal from Rotterdam, grab unloaders, ore and coal stockyards, conveyor belts and the Schwelgern 1 and 2 blast furnaces.
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Dortmund · canal port and Westfalenhütte
The canal port at the end of the Dortmund-Ems Canal as a walkable model: canal barges with two tiers of containers, three container gantries, four tracks and the route to the Westfalenhütte plant.
Real are the location, terrain and buildings (open elevation data, OpenStreetMap) and the public site profile figures. Volumes, rhythms and vehicle numbers are model assumptions, processes accelerated. With your data, the model also shows occupancy per area, car trains per day and dwell time.