The Hamburg deal gives Hapag-Lloyd a significant foothold in a second
container terminal in its home port. The carrier already owns 25.1% of HHLA’s
Container Terminal Altenwerder, meaning it will now have interests in two of
Hamburg’s four major container terminals. Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg
has annual handling capacity of around 2.5m teu. For Hamburg, the agreement
represents another step in the changing ownership landscape among the port’s
terminals, with major liner operators increasingly taking direct stakes in the
infrastructure they rely upon. MSC already holds a major shareholding in HHLA,
while COSCO owns a 24.99% stake in HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort. At the same time, HGT is increasing its
stake in the TC3 terminal at Tangier Med to 20%, reinforcing its position at
one of the Mediterranean’s most important transhipment hubs and a key node in
east-west container trades.