The Ostsee Ressort Damp, which still operates the harbour, has now officially announced what will happen to the 100 or so berths that will not officially be available until 1 July following the partial opening of the harbour. The subliminal hopes of many owners who had a berth in the reopened part of jetties A-D are likely to be disappointed: They will not automatically be offered their old berth, but from now on all ex-permanent berth holders may apply for one of the 100 berths, by telephone or in writing, with a deadline of 25 June. This move appears to be based on the fact that the operator had cancelled all berth contracts in writing at the end of May. Rumour has it, however, that not all owners wanted to accept this and were considering legal action.
The berths that are now being offered are also limited in time and are valid from 1 July to 30 September. If demand exceeds supply, the decision will be made by drawing lots.
If there is more demand than places, we draw lots
The somewhat surprising step of reapplying, including the lottery procedure, is the end point in a long chain of somewhat questionable dealings between the operator and its customers, who were kept in the dark about the development for a long time and who received a lot of news from the media rather than from their contractual partner. It is now to be hoped that the termination of the lease agreement sought by the owner of the harbour, the municipality of Damp and the Ostsee Ressort Damp will come about as soon as possible so that the way is clear for an interim operator, who will then presumably run the harbour until the entire facility is rebuilt in 2025. The legal details of the return are apparently being discussed behind the scenes at the moment. In any case, the municipality is aiming to completely rebuild a much higher breakwater, around 3.4 metres as opposed to the previous 1.6 metres, and modern jetties with the help of the storm surge subsidy fund from the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The project is expected to cost around 13 million euros and the project time is likely to be correspondingly long.
Day visitors are not affected by this development. They can call at the reopened part of the harbour from 1 July, but should ideally call the harbour master in advance to find out whether there are any free places. He can be reached on the telephone number 04352 80-8539 to reach.
