Dear readers,

If you ask around port operators, you often hear from dissatisfied customers. As we have just learnt for our Mooring survey. The prices are already far too high for many berth owners on the Baltic coast. I can't understand this grumbling. We will have to pay even more for a berth in the future - and that's a good thing.

This is because the marinas in Germany have long been in an infrastructure crisis. In many places, the list is long: bollards need to be replaced, jetties need to be protected from flooding and sanitary facilities need to be renovated. As if that wasn't enough, marinas have to invest in digitalisation and cover rising staff costs at the same time. The regional consequences of the Baltic Sea storm surge and subsequent repairs make things even more difficult. Ideally, everything should be remodelled sustainably, future-proof, environmentally friendly and as quickly as possible.

Between refurbishment backlog and cost pressure

Not every harbour faces the same challenges. The Consequences of the storm surge have not affected all locations equally and not every harbour has to protect itself more against storm events. State subsidies are also not distributed equally. But one problem affects all harbour operators: costs are rising massively. I spoke to several harbour operators as part of our berth report. Philipp Mühlenhardt, Managing Director of Sporthafen Kiel GmbH, spoke of a cost increase of over 30 per cent for structural renovations in his ports in Kiel.

You don't have to be a mathematician to recognise the imbalance when, on the one hand, there is a refurbishment backlog in the harbours and, on the other, drastically rising prices for maintenance measures. Small marinas, sailing clubs and privately run yacht clubs in particular often struggle to make progress with their projects. They are often dependent on members who are willing to donate in order to actually make a difference.

Milkmaid's bill in the harbour basin

As sailors, we must be prepared to spend more money on moorings in future if we do not want to encounter increasingly dilapidated jetties or sanitary facilities in the future. Harbours are already having to delay renovations for years in some cases. Also Philipp Mühlenhardt emphasised this point in the interview. In Kiel, too, "smaller rolls" will probably have to be baked in future. While the costs for a port have risen by over 30 per cent, the prices for a berth in Kiel have only increased by 12 per cent. This is a calculation that is already no longer working out for other harbour operators.

Switching to additional income

Large operators are increasingly trying to recoup some of their losses by offering better services. They offer a wide range of services, from rigging to winter storage. Smaller harbours are often denied this option. There is a lack of space or the necessary infrastructure. Often there is simply no staff for such projects. Government funding, which could ease the situation, is often lost in the maze of funding guidelines and application procedures. They do not reach all harbours to the same extent and in some cases are simply not comprehensive enough.

Still in an oasis of well-being

If we want to maintain the variety of marinas in the Baltic Sea for the future, from the small club on the Schlei to the large marina in Kiel or Rostock, we will simply have to dig deeper into our pockets.

When it comes to coping with the pain, it may help to think outside the box. In Croatia, you often pay over 10,000 euros per year for a twelve-metre yacht in popular ACI marinas. In summer, the daily rates there are sometimes well over 100 euros. In comparison, we still live in a feel-good oasis on the Baltic Sea. Even if you park your motorhome on a proper pitch, you often pay more per night than we do for our pitch, including water and electricity.

So we should stop moaning.

David Ingelfinger

YACHT volunteer

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