Germany has raised yellow weather alerts for today and tomorrow as Storm Zoltan moves over the North Sea, bringing gale-force winds and heavy rainfall.

According to the German Weather Service, gale-force gusts and wind speeds of up to 120 km/h can be expected at the coast from midday. The storm depression is expected to cover the whole of Germany during the course of the day.

Kuehne+Nagel reports that the effects of the storm began to impact container handling at the terminals in Germany this morning. The Eurogate and NTB terminals in Bremerhaven and CTB in Hamburg reported earlier today that operations were only possible to a limited extent or had to be cancelled completely due to strong winds.

Adverse weather also made it impossible for inland depots to continue with container handling.

Conditions have since worsened, and some port terminals and depots have closed until further notice. These currently include CT 1 to 4, including NTB in Bremerhaven and CTB in Hamburg. Service providers expect the rest of the port terminals in Hamburg to follow.

Moving eastward, the storm also known as Storm Pia, has reached neighbouring Denmark. Earlier today APM Terminals Aarhus issued a weather warning stating it expects to close at 15:00 today.

"The winds are expected to continue to increase throughout the day and evening and we therefore don't expect operations to be able to restart today if/when operations are stopped. We will of course keep the operations running as long as the weather and winds allows us to," notes the port.

Kuehne+Nagel representatives are available to assist with affected cargo. Should you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to your local contact.