The terminal building has a ground-floor level with an area of approximately 1,000 m², a length of 68.5 m and a width of 15.5 m, and is designed as a steel hall. Approximately 80 tonnes of steel were processed for this at ZINQ in Gelsenkirchen and transported to Hamburg.

„Working with ZINQ was, as always, service-oriented and reliable,“ summarises Guido Holtkamp from Holtkamp Stahlkonstruktionen GmbH, the steel construction company responsible for the work. „The partnership and coordination with all project partners have been running smoothly so far.“

The load-bearing structure, consisting of frame elements with supports made of HEM 240 or HEM 280 profiles and HEM 280 beams, each connected by 4 HEB 200 profiles, has already been erected on site. The inner and outer shells made of aluminium with non-combustible insulation in between are almost complete. „The effect that hot-dip galvanising improves the fire resistance of steel components, meaning the duration during which the components retain their load-bearing function in the event of a fire, can be explained by the lower emissivity of the components protected in this way,“ says Dr. Thomas Pinger, Head of Research and Development at ZINQ. „In other words: the hot-dip galvanised surface reflects thermal radiation more strongly, thereby reducing the thermal energy absorbed by the steel component, which is equivalent to a delayed heating of the components in the event of a fire.“

However, hot-dip galvanizing offers even more advantages for this location directly on the water, in particular high-quality corrosion protection during floods or when additional mechanical stress occurs as a result, for example, from debris hitting the building. In the case of a coating conventionally applied to the steel parts, a correspondingly complex system of fire and corrosion protection layers would have been required to meet the high demands. And hot-dip galvanizing also scores points from a very practical perspective. Besides being used as a cruise terminal, the hall is intended as a multi-functional venue for various events with a maximum of 700 visitors during the off-season. Here, robust hot-dip galvanizing offers another advantage. It is common practice at events to carry out installations and suspend loads such as lighting and sound equipment from the ceiling beams. Conventional fire protection coatings (intumescent paints) are often damaged by mechanical impacts during this process. The consequence is high maintenance costs.

Such mechanical damage can be ruled out on the robust, hot-dip galvanized surfaces. Not least, the hot-dip galvanizing is carried out at the factory, thus increasing the degree of prefabrication. On-site, the corrosion protection and fire protection steps are eliminated, meaning the construction time is shortened by these saved on-site work steps. The building is scheduled for completion by the Hafengeburtstag on 9 May 2020 at the latest.