Despite fierce protests, the Hamburg Parliament approved the entry of the shipping company MSC into the port logistics company HHLA in the first reading. MSC boss Toft is now trying to calm tempers.
The Hamburg Parliament, with a red-green majority, has approved the controversial entry of the shipping company MSC into the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA in the first reading – now MSC boss Søren Toft is trying to smooth things over. “We will show that MSC is a reliable and loyal partner for the city of Hamburg. I am sure that the image of MSC in Hamburg will change,” Toft told “Welt am Sonntag”. He did not rule out “that Hamburg could become a so-called hub, a junction for container traffic in the future.”
On Wednesday, the Hamburg Parliament approved the draft bill on MSC’s entry submitted by the red-green Senate in a first reading. Because the CDU, the Left and the AfD refused a second and final reading in the same session, 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.
Hamburg and MSC want to manage HHLA together in the future
Hamburg’s red-green Senate wants to bring the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) on board to stabilize the Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) and container handling. The city will hold 50.1 percent of the company and MSC 49.9 percent. The city previously owned around 70 percent, the rest was widely held.
In return, the shipping company wants to increase its cargo volume at the HHLA terminals from next year and increase it to one million standard containers per year by 2031. “That’s roughly double what it is today,” Toft told the newspaper. At the same time, he promised that no containers would be diverted from Bremerhaven, where MSC has a partnership with Eurogate. “The additional volumes that we want to bring to Hamburg will either come from the growth in handling, or they will be shifted to Hamburg from the western European ports outside Germany.”
Toft: Growth and employee protection are core elements
Toft tried to allay fears of a reduction in co-determination and employee rights for dock workers, works councils and the Verdi union. “Growth and the protection of employees are two core elements of this agreement. For us as a family business, employees play a central role,” said Toft. This can also be seen in the fact that MSC as a group has never cut staff on a large scale, even in difficult times.
In addition to increasing the amount of cargo, the Swiss MSC also wants to build a new German headquarters in Hamburg and, together with the city, increase HHLA’s equity by 450 million euros. “We want to invest together in Hamburg’s largest container terminal, Burchardkai (…).” MSC operates more than 100 port terminals worldwide. “We have a lot of experience in terms of growth, modernization and increasing productivity. We want to share this with HHLA.”
The main goal is to create growth at HHLA and for the port. “To achieve this, HHLA must remain competitive and attractive as a provider for all shipping companies, including Hapag-Lloyd,” Toft told the newspaper. This also applies to the rail subsidiary Metrans, which remains a market-open company.
Source: Stern
