Hamburg Port News

Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said on Thursday that it would not be in the container shipper's interest to make a counter offer for HHLA, the main operator of Hamburg port, and may instead cut its traffic through the hub.On Wednesday, Switzerland-based MSC, the world's biggest container shipping company, offered to buy almost half of the port operator in a deal that could be worth nearly 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion).Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Habben Jansen said that as a result of MSC's bid…

Swiss-based MSC, the world's biggest container shipping company, has offered to buy almost half of the main operator of Hamburg port in a deal that could be worth nearly 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion), setting the stage for a potential bidding war.Shares in HHLA, which runs Germany's biggest port, soared 49% to a 19-month high as shortly after Wednesday's announcement German logistics billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne said he was considering a counter offer."We are examining the submission of a public takeover bid, but would prefer an agreement with the city of Hamburg on privatization - be i

Port logistics firm HHLA said on Wednesday the German government has cleared the purchase by China’s Cosco of a 24.9% stake in a container terminal in the sea port of Hamburg, amid a political row over Chinese investment in the German economy.A spokesperson for the German government said in a statement that Berlin had informed HHLA and Cosco that their reworked deal was compliant with a cabinet decision in the fall of last year that limits the ownership of Chinese state firm Cosco in the terminal to less than 25%.The deal was also in line with Berlin declaring the terminal, known as Tollerort,

Berlin is reviewing its decision to allow China's Cosco to take a stake in one of logistics firm HHLA's three terminals at the Hamburg port, a spokesperson for the German economy ministry said on Wednesday.Responding to a question about the reported classification of Tollerort as critical infrastructure, the spokesperson said it was being determined whether and under what conditions Cosco would be allowed to take a stake in the terminal named Tollerort.The German cabinet gave Cosco the go-ahead to take a 24.9% stake in the port in October last year.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave the green

German logistics firm HHLA on Thursday called on the German government to uphold its responsibility towards the port of Hamburg and finally approve an agreed investment of China's shipping firm Cosco.HHLA has been waiting for a final go-ahead from the economy ministry for 18 months and now expects to hear back soon, Chief Executive Angela Titzrath said. "We believe we have answered all the questions," she said at a presentation of HHLA's 2022 results. HHLA had implemented all the ministry's requirements for the contract with Cosco.

The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) has closed the port to large ships because of a strike announced by the Verdi union over wages, it said on Wednesday."Due to the massive restrictions to be expected from the announced warning strikes, the administration has decided to block the Elbe for ships requiring pilotage from around 10 a.m. today until further notice," a spokesperson for HPA said.From 5.30 p.m. (1630 GMT) onwards, such ships will no longer be able to leave the port because the crews of boats that bring pilots on board container ships are taking part in the protests…

With the founding of Lehmann Marine, a subsidiary of Höpen GmbH, a new supplier of innovative maritime products such as the COBRA battery system has entered the maritime market in 2023.The COBRA (Compact Battery Rack) battery system, which is freely scalable and tailored to maritime requirements, has several references in the shipping industry for the hybridization or electrification of vessels. Initially developed by Becker Marine Systems, COBRA has now been incorporated into Lehmann Marine, which was founded on January 1, 2023.

German logistics firm HHLA and Cosco are close to finalizing an agreement for the Chinese shipping giant to take a stake in a terminal at Hamburg's port, HHLA said on Friday."We can confirm that...

The U.S has "no right" to interfere in Chinese cooperation with Germany, China's foreign ministry said Thursday, after Washington cautioned against Beijing getting a controlling stake in Hamburg's port terminal. U.S. interference is symptomatic of its practice of coercive diplomacy, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing. "Pragmatic cooperation between China and Germany is a matter for the two sovereign countries, the United States should not attack it without reason and has no right to meddle and interfere…

Germany may allow China's Cosco to take a smaller stake than originally planned in a Hamburg port terminal, in what an economy ministry source on Tuesday described as an "emergency solution" to approve the deal but mitigate the impact.Shipping giant Cosco made a bid last year to take a 35% stake in one of logistics firm HHLA's three terminals in Germany's largest port, but the German coalition has been divided over whether to let the deal go ahead.The compromise would see Berlin approving a sale of 24.9% of the terminal to Cosco, several government sources said.

The European Commission warned the German government last spring not to approve an investment by China's Cosco into Hamburg's port, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Friday, citing sources.Shipping giant Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in one of three terminals in Germany's largest port in the northern city of Hamburg.Germany's ruling coalition is divided over whether to approve the investment, government sources say, even as Beijing urges Berlin not to politicize the bid and the port authority warns this could hurt the economy.According to Handelsblatt…

Germany would put its port of Hamburg at a competitive disadvantage if it quashed a bid from China's Cosco to buy a stake in a container operator, the port city's mayor said.A rejection would be "a one-sided, competition-distorting disadvantage for Hamburg compared to Rotterdam and Antwerp, where Cosco already owns terminal shares," Mayor Peter Tschentscher told Reuters."In order to keep up with international competition, it must also be possible for shipping companies to participate in terminals in Hamburg if this makes business sense," Tschentscher added.Economy Minister Robert Habeck said i

Germany's ruling coalition is divided over whether to let China's Cosco take a stake in a Hamburg port terminal, government sources say, even as Beijing urges Berlin not to politicize the bid and the port authority warns this could hurt the economy.Shipping giant Cosco last year made a bid to take a 35% stake in one of three terminals in Germany's largest port in the northern city of Hamburg.The German government's response is being seen as a gauge of how far it is willing to toughen its stance on China…

Hamburg Fire Fighting Vessels Dresden and Prag sport diesel-electric hybrid propulsion and battery systems from EST-Floattech.After the first 100 days of operation, operator Flotte Hamburg is reports it is satisfied with the two new firefighting ships Dresden and Prague: "Due to the full approval for the use of the EST battery system 'Green Orca 1050' on inland waterway vessels, which was already available at the start of the project, the first hybrid ships of the Hamburg fleet…

European Union countries are considering a ban on Russian ships entering the bloc's ports, aiming to tighten sea restrictions after a halt on air traffic, European officials say, a step that would further hamper Russia's commercial shipments.Britain already decided on Monday to deny entry to British ports to all ships that are Russian owned, operated, controlled, chartered, registered or flagged. Canada followed on Tuesday, saying it would shut its ports to Russian-owned ships later this week, a day after it banned Russian crude oil imports.

To achieve the goals of its clean air plan and reach an important milestone towards climate neutrality in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the city’s legislature has commissioned Hamburg Port Authority – HPA to supervise planning and construction of shore-based power facilities at the Burchardkai, Tollerort and Eurogate container terminals, as well as Steinwerder and HafenCity cruise terminals.In expanding shore power supply, the Port of Hamburg is setting a clear signal of greater protection for the environment…

The Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards Group said it handed over twin fireboats to Flotte Hamburg, a subsidiary of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) tasked with implementing low-emission shipping in the city.With 315 kWh of battery capacity, the state-of-the-art, plug-in hybrid vessels are capable of extended, fully-electric, emissions-free operations in and around the Port of Hamburg. Prag will be operated by Hamburg’s fire service while Dresden will support the HPA, the fire service and other third parties.The vessels, classed as Damen Fire-Fighting Vessels 3508, are completely new designs.

The two new fire boats of the Flotte Hamburg were ceremonially christened Dresden and Prag on September 23 by their two sponsors, Dresden's Second Mayor Annekatrin Klepsch and Prague's City Councillor for Culture Hana Třeštíková. In the presence of Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and CEO of Hamburg Port Authority Jens Meier, the ships then went on a short sea trial in the Port of Hamburg.Mayor Dr. Peter Tschentscher said, "The new fire boats Prag and Dresden ensure safety in the port and can run emission-free with their plug-in hybrid drives.

Crew services specialist Boers has launched seafarer vaccination programs at German and Belgian ports, as shipping executives warn of onboard COVID-19 outbreaks because mariners are not getting vaccines quick enough.Seafarers arriving at ports in Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge can get one-shot COVID-19 jabs through Boers’ scheme, which is being launched to protect key workers in the shipping industry.The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine will be available free of charge until further notice to all mariners of any nationality arriving in Belgium for crew changes.

Ultra-luxury cruise ship Europa 2 has had its cold ironing connection certified by classification society DNV GL following testing of the undisrupted use and compatibility of the shore-to-ship power system in the Port of Hamburg.While idled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Europa 2 has been using cold ironing at the Cruise Center Altona in Hamburg for the past 30 days, reportedly marking the first time a cruise ship has been using cold ironing for a long period of time.Europa 2, with a maximum of 500 passengers requires 2.2 megawatts (MW) of power per hour during its lay time.

Port of Hamburg welcomed the ‘AAL Kembla’ on her first call in Germany’s largest universal port. She berthed at C. Steinweg’s multi-purpose Süd-West-Terminal.AAL Shipping is deploying the heavy-lift/project cargo ship on its new monthly liner service connecting ports in Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia. The service is overseen by AAL’s Hamburg office, opened in 2012, which also offers tailormade tramp chartering shipping to all regions in the world. Built in 2011, the ‘AAL Kembla’ is one of the carrier’s second generation A-class multi-purpose, heavy-lift vessels. She is 193.81 meters long and 29.1 meters wide, with a draft of 9.2 meters. The vessel has four shipboard cranes and a maximum lift capacity of 700 tons.

Germany's largest port, the Port of Hamburg not expecting reduction in container throughput caused by liner service changes announced by Ocean Alliance and Maersk.From April, the Ocean Alliance NEU 5 service handled by EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg – CTH is being transferred to Antwerp, said a press release from the a sea port on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea."This service will be run by the Ocean Alliance Partner, CMA CGM as FAL 3 with an approximate annual volume of 150,000 TEU," it said.Going forward, according to CMA CGM, the entire container volume carried until now to and from Hamburg by this service will be handled by the five Ocean Alliance liner services continuing to call in Hamburg.

The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) has ordered two more fire-fighting vessels following the delivery of modern fireboat, the "Branddirektor Westphal".As with the previous order, both vessels will be fitted with Schottel thrusters – in this case, two Schottel Rudderpropellers and one Schottel Transverse Thruster. These will enable maximum maneuverability in the restricted fairway of the Port of Hamburg.This mobility is also guaranteed in situations that require fast response times. The special vessels, operated by Flotte Hamburg, a wholly owned subsidiary of the HPA, are currently under construction at Damen Shipyards.Each of the fireboats features two rudder-propellers type SRP 150 L FP (380 kW each) with a propeller diameter of 1.10 m and a transverse thruster type STT 60 FP (100 kW).