Hapag-Lloyd’s HGT secures majority control of Le Havre container terminal

Rotterdam-headquartered Hanseatic Global Terminals (HGT), a fully owned subsidiary of Germany’s container shipping titan Hapag-Lloyd, has acquired a majority stake in CNMP LH, operator of the Atlantique container terminal in Le Havre, France.

As informed, HGT has purchased 60% of the shares in CNMP LH, while the remaining 40% will remain under the ownership of Seafrigo Group, a US- and France-based logistics player. The parties have not revealed any financial details of the transaction as of yet.

Sharing his thoughts about the development, Dheeraj Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer of Hanseatic Global Terminals, highlighted that the acquisition could “directly contribute” to the realization of the company’s 2030 vision of ‘sustainable’ expansion. As explained, the biggest focus area of this agenda is operating around 30 terminals by 2030.

“By acquiring a majority stake in the CNMP LH terminal in Le Havre, we are strengthening our position in one of our core European markets. At the same time, we are continuing to expand our global terminal portfolio while paving the way for targeted investments to enhance efficiency,” Bhatia shared.

“We are very pleased to have a strong partner at our side in Hanseatic Global Terminals, with whom we will continue to modernize the CNMP LH terminal in Le Havre. This will significantly raise the profile of our joint terminal as an important gateway for container transports in the Port of Le Havre,” Eric Barbé, President of Seafrigo Group, added.

As understood, Le Havre is considered to be among the ten biggest ports in Europe, handling an annual container throughput of 3 million TEU. At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd has unveiled that the CNMP LH terminal’s container throughput is anticipated to continue rising in the coming years, making this a ‘particularly significant’ investment for HGT.

The Hamburg-headquartered shipping titan’s HGT commenced operations in June 2023. It was revealed that it would manage and consolidate terminal and infrastructure investments across 20 terminals in 11 countries, including JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven, Germany as well as Terminal TC3 in Tangier, Morocco.

The first quarter of 2025 has thus far been busy for Hapag-Lloyd’s own operations, as well. Just days after the official launch of the Gemini Cooperation, a long-term operational partnership with Denmark’s shipping player A.P. Moller-Maersk, the company unveiled that it had secured a staggering $4 billion long-term financing deal.

As explained, the investment is intended for the two dozen liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered dual fuel boxships Hapag-Lloyd ordered in October 2024 at two shipyards in China. The financing is set to be carried out based on the company’s Green Financing Framework.