Page 34 - Hafen Hamburg | Port of Hamburg Magazine 4.2021

■ WORLD TRADE
Strategic Cooperation
Lars Anke, HHLA Chief Representative Asia explains in this essay why international cooperation and networked thinking are now so essential for the future.
27 August 1982 the Port of Hamburg witnessed a pre- miere. With the MV FEN HE 01 berthing at what was then Shed 91 at Tollerort, for the first time a cargo ship arrived from China. The vessel had a length of 170 me- tres, a breadth of 28.4 metres, and capacity of 1,234 standard containers. For handling cargo between the vessel and the quay wall, at that time two ship’s cranes sufficed. Meanwhile, CTT – HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort is one of the top European hubs for seaborne transport with China. Impressive proof occurred on 23 February 2018, when COSCO Shipping’s ‘Aries’ berthed at CTT shortly after 08:00. With a length of 400 metres and a breadth of 59 metres, this steel giant can transport 20,000 standard containers. Shipboard cranes are no longer up to handling such immense quantities of containers. Instead, high-performance gantry crane technology is required. Ignoring the un- certainty over the outcome of the legal dispute on the fairway adjustment on the Elbe, at Tollerort too HHLA invested in the technology that enables containerships the size of the ‘Aries’ to be handled. The facility offers 14 container gantry cranes for this purpose.
The ‘Aries’ also lay in Hamburg at the end of May 2019, when Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan visited Tol- lerort with a large delegation. This was the occasion for an agreement that the existing business tie be- tween HHLA and COSCO should be expanded to their mutual advantage. Th deal was that COSCO should ac- quire a minority stake in CTT, and in return would en- sure reliable and preferential approach to Hamburg for
Lars Anke, HHLA Chief Representative Asia
its vessels. Despite the hindrances and restrictions caused by the Corona pandemic, intensive negotiation followed. In September 2021 an agreement to that ef- fect was then signed. Provided the Federal Cartel Of- fice and the Ministry of Economics assent to the trans- action, CSPL – COSCO Shipping Ports Limited will acquire a 35 percent stake in the smallest of the three HHLA container terminals in the Port of Hamburg. CTT will become a ‘Preferred Hub’ in Europe for COSCO, where cargo flows will be concentrated. ThiselevatesHHLA’sstrategiccooperationwithoneofthe largest players in the world logistics sector to a new level. This step is necessitated by the massive changes now af- fecting added value logistics chains. Ports worldwide are confronted by constant increases in ship size, pressure on rates,steeperdemandsforefficiency,andmountingcom- petitive pressure regionally and supra-regionally.
34 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | December 2021
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