China Cosco Shipping’s investment in a German port has become the subject of a political row.
German politicians have expressed concerns over the Chinese company’s attempt to acquire a stake in a port terminal in Hamburg, citing concerns that this may pose a security to the country.
Port operator Cosco Shipping Ports (CSPL) announced on 22 September last year that it would acquire 35% of Hamburg’s Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT).
The liner giant said that CTT was an important logistics hub with a good location, water depth and connections to the hinterland.
But German politicians led by the economic ministry have expressed concerns that the terminal was part of Germany’s “critical infrastructure”.
That has split the Germany’s governing coalition, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in favour of waving through a deal that is opposed by his partners, the Greens and Free Democrats, the Financial Times reported.
Some officials are worried about the economic consequences of a decision to block the deal, fearing Chinese ships could stop using Hamburg and dock in other European ports instead.
Cosco has extensive interests in other European ports, including a 90% ownership of the CSP Zeebrugge Terminal in Belgium where it this year renewed a lease through to 2055.
Both the Zeebrugge and Hamburg terminals are mainly used by Ocean Alliance members CMA CGM, Evergreen, Cosco Shipping Lines and Orient Overseas Container Line.
Cosco also has 100% ownership of the Piraeus Terminal, as well as sizeable stakes of two Spanish terminals as well as the north European ports of Antwerp and Euromax in Holland.
Port operating company HHLA, which owns the Tollerort terminal, argued there was “no objective reasons that would indicate that the investment should not be approved”.
“The cooperation between HHLA and Cosco does not create any one-sided dependencies. On the contrary: it strengthens supply chains, secures jobs and promotes value creation in Germany,” the company said.
“CSPL is not gaining access to the Port of Hamburg or HHLA, but only a minority stake in HHLA’s operating subsidiary CTT. HHLA retains sole control over all significant decisions. COSCO has no exclusive rights at CTT — the terminal remains open to container volumes from all customers.”
Cosco Shipping Ports is a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of the state-owned China Cosco Shipping.
