Danish shipping giant Maersk is turning the development partnership for the Haiphong terminal in Vietnam into a direct investment. Hapag-Lloyd could also benefit from this.
The Danish Maersk Group – which operates the Gemini liner alliance with Hapag-Lloyd – is acquiring almost half of Hai Phong International Container Terminal (HHIT) with 49%, as has now been announced. The remaining shares are held by the Vietnamese Hateco Group.
The port is not unfamiliar territory for Maersk. The Danes have already been active there in the past three years: as a partner in the planning, development and commissioning via the port subsidiary APM Terminals. Now the entry follows. “This step underlines the success of the terminal – from the initial idea to the efficient terminal operation, which can handle ships of up to 18,000 TEU,” said the Danes in a statement.
As part of the project, APM Terminals shared best practices in the areas of security, port automation, the use of artificial intelligence, process optimization and decarbonization. The terminal has also been included in the Gemini cooperation, the new East-West network of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
HHIT is considered the most modern and largest deep-water port in North Vietnam and comprises two new deep-water berths in the Lach Huyen area of Hai Phong city. HHIT is designed to facilitate the direct import and export of goods to and from North Vietnam as well as to the European and American markets.
“It is with great pride that we have built our strategic partnership with Hateco and this joint venture underlines our long-term commitment to Vietnam. We are confident that the terminal will fulfill our promise to provide smarter, greener and faster logistics solutions to deepen and develop trade in the region. We greatly appreciate the development of the terminal under the leadership of the Hateco team and look forward to building on and further investing in our role as the best partner for Vietnam,” said Jon Goldner, Chief Executive Asia & Middle East, APM Terminals.
