The traditional Hamburg shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is considering withdrawing cargo from the port of Hamburg. The reason for this is the planned so-called HHLA deal between the city of Hamburg and the world’s largest container shipping company MSC. Hapag-Lloyd is currently processing almost all of the volume intended for Central Europe via Hamburg, says Hapag-Lloyd boss Rolf Habben Jansen. “I could also imagine a scenario in which that is only 70 or 80 percent.”
The Geneva-based shipping company MSC and the city of Hamburg signed a binding preliminary agreement on Wednesday to establish a strategic partnership for the future of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). The city of Hamburg currently holds around 69 percent of the listed HHLA. In the future, this will be managed in a joint venture, with the city holding 50.1 percent and MSC 49.9 percent of the shares.