Uwe Köhn (left), Director of the Port of Mannheim, and Alexander Voigt, Director of the Port of Ludwigshafen. Photo: Annika Beyer

Two ports, one course. In an interview with the trade journal SUT – Shipping and Technology, Uwe Köhn, Director of the Port of Mannheim, and Alexander Voigt, Director of the Port of Ludwigshafen, discuss growth, infrastructure, political framework conditions, and the future of inland ports on the Upper Rhine.

The ports of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen are among the key logistics hubs on the Upper Rhine. Despite challenging economic conditions, both locations achieved growth in waterborne cargo handling in 2025.

Topics covered in the interview with SUT include the financing of waterways, the importance of deepening the Middle Rhine, investments in port infrastructure, new energy carriers, sustainability, military logistics, as well as the question of how ports can remain operationally effective under increasing regulatory pressure.

Read the interview

Download the full SUT interview “Two Ports, One Course” as a PDF here.

(Published with the kind permission of the editorial team.)