by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

Hapag-Lloyd will begin handling some of its ships at Eurogate in Hamburg Port, shifting from its current operations at the HHLA terminal Burchardkai.

According to Hapag-Lloyd's CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen, the change is primarily attributed to the recent Gemini Cooperation with Danish carrier Maersk, a long-time Eurogate customer.

However, Jansen also mentioned the restructuring at the HHLA, a key operator at the port.

On another note, competitor MSC completed the purchase of a 49.9% stake in the HHLA in November 2024 and is claiming berths at HHLA's Burchardkai terminal.

Terminal Burchardkai can handle the largest container ships in the world and is considered more efficient than other terminals due to its advanced automation. 

Shipping Watch reports that the German carrier plans to transfer 350,000-400,000 TEU per year from the HHLA terminal to Eurogate by the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter of this year.

Despite this change, Hapag-Lloyd will continue using the HHLA terminal Altenwerder, which owns a quarter of the shares. However, Altenwerder's location behind a bridge over the river Elbe limits access to small and medium-sized container ships.