HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - Despite all protests and concerns, the Hamburg Parliament has approved the controversial acquisition of the world's largest shipping company MSC by port logistics company HHLA in the first reading. In a roll-call vote, 71 out of 105 MPs voted in favor of the bill submitted by the red-green Senate. 34 MPs voted against. However, the opposition from the CDU, the Left Party and the AfD refused a second and final reading in the same session. This means that the final decision on the contract between the city and MSC, which will run for at least 40 years, will not be made until the first session after the summer break on September 4 at the earliest. In view of the two-thirds majority of the red-green coalition in parliament, there is no doubt that it will be approved.

Hamburg's red-green Senate wants to bring the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on board in order to stabilize Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and container handling. The city is to hold 50.1 percent and MSC 49.9 percent of the company. To date, the city has owned around 70 percent, with the remainder in free float. In return, the shipping company wants to increase its cargo volume at the HHLA terminals from next year onwards and increase it to one million standard containers per year by 2031, according to the draft law. It will also build a new German headquarters in HafenCity. MSC and the city also want to jointly increase HHLA's equity by 450 million euros, among other things.

HHLA is the heart of the Port of Hamburg

HHLA is regarded as the heart of the Port of Hamburg. Last year, around 5.9 million standard containers (TEU) were handled at its three container terminals. This corresponds to around 77 percent of Hamburg's total throughput of around 7.7 million TEU. In addition, HHLA and its almost 6800 employees are involved in terminals in the Ukrainian port of Odessa, the Italian port of Trieste and the Estonian port of Muuga. At least as important to HHLA as the terminals are its companies for the onward transportation of containers by road and rail. For rail transportation, HHLA has its subsidiary Metrans, which transported almost 1.4 million TEU last year, primarily to numerous countries in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Nevertheless, HHLA's situation is difficult. As an internationally oriented company, it is often hit hard and directly by the world's crises. Last year, for example, with a turnover of around 1.45 billion euros, a profit of just 20 million euros remained. Container throughput fell by 7.5 percent and container transport by 5.4 percent - confirming a trend that has been more or less sustained since the global financial crisis in 2008, unlike the main competitor ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. In the first quarter of this year, HHLA even slipped into the red. With a turnover of 363.6 million euros, it posted a net loss of 1.1 million euros.

Significant concerns about the deal among employees and experts

There are considerable reservations about the deal. Port workers took to the streets several times, venting their anger at demonstrations and not even shying away from a wildcat strike. Works councils, the Verdi trade union and even experts warned of a "historic mistake" in expert hearings and in a public hearing of the Hamburg Parliament. For example, the printed matter states that compulsory redundancies, significant changes in the number of employees or leaving the employers' associations "will not be considered before the end of five years (...)". But after that, critics are convinced.

During the parliamentary debate, which was also followed by partly stunned, partly angry port workers in orange-colored fluorescent vests, the waves once again ran high. The opposition and the governing coalition accused each other of spreading falsehoods or blowing smoke and mirrors. While some spoke of a high-risk deal in which the city was by no means always in control, representatives of the SPD and the Greens emphasized the opportunities for the port and the city. The AfD and the Left Party again brought up a referendum, rejected by the Red-Greens, in which the people of Hamburg should vote on the future of HHLA.

Senate defends MSC investment in parliament

Finance Senator Andreas Dressel and Economics Senator Melanie Leonhard - Mayor Peter Tschentscher (all SPD) was not in the plenary chamber during the debate - defended the Senate's plan. Leonhard said that the aim was to make HHLA fit for the future. And the deal was a well-considered partnership package "that will enable HHLA to have a good future while safeguarding jobs and employee rights". Dressel again referred to the safeguards built into the contract, for example regarding cargo volumes and co-determination rights. For Green Party parliamentary group leader Dominik Lorenzen, it was clear: "We're going through with it now."/klm/DP/men