On Tuesday, the Hamburg Senate, which is the body of the executive of the Hanseatic city-state, approved the entry of the MSC shipping group into the company's capital German terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) through the establishment of a joint venture of which the city government holds a majority stake equal to 50.1% of the capital compared to the current 70% ( of 13 September and 12 December 2023). After the Senate's decision, the operation will be It will be submitted to Parliament for consideration in the coming weeks.

In the Senate's communication to citizens justifying the decision to give the go-ahead to the operation, the changes that have taken place in recent years in the port market of the Northern Range where the shipping companies, which are characterized by a high level of concentration and a power, have become more and more entries and integrated into the port terminal and logistics market and now these maritime carriers have a significant Presence in European ports through investments in containers terminal operators and terminal operators. It should also be noted that the recent years have been marked by multiple crises and which, especially in times of crisis, the ports that have been most affected by the developed are those that have established partnerships and collaborations with different market players. It should be noted, in in particular, that the investments of shipping companies have led to a stabilisation of freight volumes as In times of crisis, ocean carriers tend to use their own port terminals.

The document highlights that several relevant factors hindered the previous strategy of the Hamburg HHLA, which provided for the maintenance of absolute independence from the shipping companies' investments and that the consequent change of strategy has seen as a first step the project of merger of HHLA with Eurogate, which is the other major group German terminal operator ( of 29 May 2020 and 1st July 2022). Recalling that the negotiations were in a postponed due to the uncertainty of the conditions of the market and finally have been cancelled, the Communication points out that for the Senate, the waiver of a participation of majority in HHLA was not and is not an option being a fundamental prerequisite to be able to contribute to shaping the development of the company, which is crucial for the port of Hamburg, as well as to protect the interests of employees of the terminal company and the city, including the Generations.

The document explains the purpose of the partnership with MSC is to create a strong base, especially in terms of capital, for the future development of HHLA and the entire Port of Hamburg, which will be able to become an important hub in the network of maritime services and MSC, which is expanding its presence in the Central European logistics market. It should also be noted that the partnership includes measures to expand the competitiveness of HHLA in the port logistics sector and in the containers, intermodality and logistics.