It has taken many years, but finally dredging work on the crucial river access to Europe’s third-largest port has begun.

Port of Hamburg marketing joint CEO Ingo Egloff said the vital infrastructure project was being blocked by objections from environmental pressure groups, which he said was unacceptable.

Officials say alliance volume shifting from Bremerhaven could go a long way toward replacing losses in two areas — one business model-related, the other physical.

The leading container ports still call the shots — thanks to the schedules of the three powerful alliances — but rival smaller ports are adding business and in the process are giving shippers options to northern and southern Europe.

Eurogate's Hamburg terminal suffered a 25 percent decline in volume during 2017, losing the bankrupt Hanjin and other carrier customers as container shipping alliances were redrawn.

Container volume at Hamburg slipped by 1 percent in 2017 even as mega-ship calls more than doubled. Port of Hamburg Marketing officials believe draft restrictions in force on the Elbe River fairway and the narrow tidal window have caused shipowners to use available transport space on their mega-ships primarily to shift loaded boxes.

A time slot booking system has been launched at Hamburg as the port tries to smooth out the spikes caused by increasing mega-ship calls.

The inability of mega-ships to enter and leave Hamburg fully loaded is affecting container throughput and could hurt the port's competitiveness.

This “cost-effective” means to transferring containers is used primarily for heavy shipments.

The stagnant traffic was also due to the delay in deepening the river Elbe.

The drop widened the gap between the German port and its top rivals.

Eurogate raised fears that the German terminals’ competitive position is being threatened by delays to infrastructure projects.

The port's volume fell nearly 10 percent in 2015.

The court ruled that the port must address several environmental issues before it can proceed.

The port of Hamburg consolidated its recovery from last year’s slump in container volume.

HHLA, the largest terminal operator in Hamburg, Europe’s third-largest port, has exercised an option for three more ship-to-shore cranes.

HHLA’s operating profit slumped by almost one-fifth in the first half of the year.