Top 5 container line buying into major Europe terminal

The power balance among container carriers and the ports they serve continues to evolve. German container line Hapag-Lloyd announced that subsidiary Hanseatic Global Terminals (HGT) today signed a term sheet to acquire a 20% stake in Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg, the second-busiest box hub at the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest liner operator, said that the transaction remains subject to the negotiation and finalization of binding agreements. No terms were disclosed. Eurogate handled 1. 13 million TEUs in the first half of 2025, behind the three combined terminals of HHLA at approximately 4. 29 million TEUs. Hamburg posted total volume of 8.

3 million TEUs this past year, third in Europe behind Rotterdam in The Netherlands and Belgium’s Antwerp. Plans call for the port and Eurogate to spend a combined $2. 7 billion to expand capacity from 4 million to 6 million TEUs in the coming years.

“The agreement marks another important step in strengthening our terminal portfolio in Europe,” said Dheeraj Bhatia, chief executive of Hanseatic Global Terminals, in a statement. “Together with our partners, we aim to support the further development of efficient, future-ready terminal infrastructure that benefits customers, ports, and global trade.”

Michael Blach, board chairman of Eurogate, said, “Hapag-Lloyd has been a valued partner of the Eurogate Group for many decades. Together with strong partners such as Hapag-Lloyd and Hanseatic Global Terminals, we aim to further develop CTH as an important logistics hub in Northern Europe.”

HGT, an independent entity within the Hapag-Lloyd Group, acquired a 60% stake in HHLA’s Altenwerder terminal in 2025. The latest acquisition comes as container lines seek greater control over the global ocean supply chain. Vertical integration helps secure capacity, expand control over gateway operations, and support hub strategies.

In late 2025, CMA CGM of France, the world’s third-largest liner, bought a 20% share of Eurogate. Mediterranean Shipping Co.’ s Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) unit in 2025 joined with U. S. -based private equity firm BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) in a bid to buy 43 facilities in 23 countries owned by CK Hutchison of Hong Kong.

That deal, which was blocked by Beijing, would have made MSC the largest terminal operator by market share. Hapag-Lloyd plans to expand its global port terminal portfolio to approximately 30 locations and grow into a leading global terminal operator.

It also announced plans to increase its stake in the TC3 container terminal at Tangier in Morocco from 10% to 20%. Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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