As a consequence of the entry of the world's largest container shipping company MSC into the Hamburg port operator HHLA, Hapag-Lloyd is considering relocating transport volumes.

"We currently handle almost 100 percent of our volume to Central Europe via Hamburg," Group CEO Rolf Habben Jansen told the Reuters news agency in an interview on Thursday. "I could also imagine a scenario in which it is only 70 or 80 percent." This would still give the container shipping company a very strong position in the Port of Hamburg. The Hapag-Lloyd CEO is skeptical about the announcement by major shareholder Klaus-Michael Kühne that he will submit a rival bid to MSC for HHLA: "I don't think it's in our interest to make a counteroffer," said Habben Jansen.

Hamburg rejected the proposal to sell the city's majority stake in HHLA to Kühne. "The Senate has not started an auction, but yesterday presented a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening the port location and the company," the economic authority said in response to a Reuters inquiry.

On Wednesday, Hamburg announced that the Swiss container shipping company MSC would be acquiring a stake in the Hanseatic city's largest terminal operator. The industry leader is to acquire just under half of the shares in Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA). The Hanseatic city is reducing its stake from just under 70 percent to 50.1 percent.

Hapag-Lloyd then expressed its annoyance at the new competition on its own doorstep. One insider spoke of a cold shower for the company. The company felt that it had been snubbed. Founded in 1847, the shipping company and its alliance partners account for more than 50 percent of container handling in Hamburg.

"NOT EVERYTHING CAN STAY THE SAME"

Habben Jansen told Reuters that he could understand the Hamburg Senate's move, as MSC promises an additional throughput volume of one million standard containers (TEU) per year. However, Hapag-Lloyd had to defend its own interests. MSC's entry would lead to a change in competition in the port. The relationship with the City of Hamburg, which is also a co-owner of Hapag-Lloyd, is good and will not change from one perspective. "But not everything can stay the same. Something has changed. It would not be good if we simply ignored it," emphasized the shipping company boss.

Hamburg will remain an important port. "But I also believe that the volume that can be handled in Hamburg has its limits." As shipping companies are deploying more and more large container ships with capacities well in excess of 20,000 standard containers (TEU), Hamburg's opportunities for further growth are diminishing. Although the number of large ships has increased since the deepening of the Elbe, the Hanseatic city has lost market share to the competing North Sea ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. This is also the reason why MSC is being brought on board.

However, the Senate's move could prove to be a zero-sum game. His shipping company has already shifted some transport volumes to Wilhelmshaven, said Habben Jansen. "We have invested in the Jade-Weser-Port in Wilhelmshaven because we assume that this port will play a greater role in the future." In future, handling volumes will not be gained in Hamburg, but in Wilhelmshaven or perhaps also in Bremerhaven. Wilhelmshaven is Germany's only deep-water port.

"A DISASTER FOR THE PORT OF HAMBURG"

Port entrepreneur Thomas Eckelmann has now also spoken out. "This deal would be a disaster for the Port of Hamburg," he told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper. His Eurokai Group is therefore considering submitting a counter-offer for HHLA to the Senate - on the same terms as MSC.

However, Eckelmann does not see any problems for his company Eurokai and the Eurogate terminal in Hamburg, which is operated jointly with BLG Logistics: "The deal is bad for Hamburg, but it could prove to be a stroke of luck for us." MSC would switch from Eurogate to the HHLA terminals as a partner and end up taking around 25 to 30 percent of Eurogate handling with it. "That would be a painful loss. But in return, many HHLA customers could switch to us," said Eckelmann. In the end, this could even mean a gain for Eurogate.

(Report by Jan C. Schwartz, edited by Hans Seidenstücker. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)

- by Jan Schwartz