Hapag-Lloyd continues to expand its presence in South Africa after announcing its latest acquisition with its sights set on further strengthening its position in the region.

The German international shipping and container transportation said in June that it closed the buyout of the container liner business of German carrier Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL) as part of its ongoing efforts to further expand in the South African market and that the transaction had been approved by all responsible antitrust authorities.

DAL offers transportation of containerized cargo and operates services between Europe, South Africa, and the Indian Ocean.

Hapag-Lloyd said the service offering to and from South Africa is a “valuable addition” to its services there, allowing it to expand its network and tap additional port coverage in the region.

Nikolas Fischer, the Hamburg-based senior manager of corporate communications (CEO Division) at Hapag-Lloyd, told Asia Cargo News that Africa is an important growth market for the German shipping line.

“We have experienced steady and significant growth in transport volumes in Africa over the past years. Africa is an attractive and important strategic growth market for Hapag-Lloyd and we want to continue to establish ourselves here,” Fischer said.

Aside from DAL – whose full commercial integration is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022 –Hapag-Lloyd last year acquired Africa-focused carrier NileDutch, which significantly strengthened the German shipping giant’s presence and service offering to and from West Africa.

This growth-oriented strategy was also underlined by several new office openings in Africa in 2021 and 2020.

Fischer said the acquisition of NileDutch added 80,000 TEU of capacity to its fleet, as well as several new services, offices, and expertise, giving Hapag-Lloyd “even better access to the African market.”

“The acquisition of NileDutch has brought us a big step forward. Our remaining investments also underline our confidence in this market in the years to come,” he added.

Moving forward, the German shipping line remains open to possible acquisition opportunities in the region as it seeks to further build its presence in the African region.

“Africa is a strategic growth market for us and we plan on further strengthening our position here,” Fischer told Asia Cargo News.

“This was already demonstrated by the introduction of new service offerings and increased local presence, both through our acquisition of NileDutch, the container liner business of DAL, several new offices, and our recently announced investment in the port of Damietta.”

“We are always open to strengthening our position in this important market,” he added.

Nonetheless, Fischer said, for now, Hapag-Lloyd is focused on its ongoing projects in the region including the full integration of DAL into HLAG and its engagement in the port of Damietta, located in the Nile River delta in lower Egypt.

Hapag-Lloyd announced on June 3 that it entered into a Joint Venture for a new terminal in the port of Damietta to develop and operate the new Terminal 2. The Damietta Alliance Container Terminal S.A.E. joint venture consists of three core shareholders: Hapag-Lloyd Damietta (39%), Eurogate Damietta (29.5%), and Contship Damietta (29.5%), among others.

The new Terminal 2 at the port of Damietta is expected to start operations by 2024.

Meanwhile, like most of its shipping peers, a surge in earnings has allowed Hapag-Lloyd to ramp up investments in its business. But unlike some of the major shipping lines that have increased investments in non-maritime logistics, Hapag-Lloyd said it will be focusing on its core business for now.

“As things stand today, we will continue to focus on our core business,” Fischer said when asked for plans to offer end-to-end logistics like some of its shipping peers.

Hapag Lloyd earlier said it is aiming to integrate major parts of the NileDutch business into its own in the latter part of 2021. NileDutch brings with it seven liner services, around 35,000 TEU of transport capacity, and a container fleet with a capacity of around 80,000 TEU.

On the other hand, DAL owns a 6,589 TEU container ship and operates a container fleet of around 17,800 boxes (owned and leased), which will be taken over as part of the acquisition.

By Charlee C. Delavin

Asia Cargo News | Hong Kong