Michael Blach, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board: “Container shipping is currently going through a phase of transition. Last year saw the start of an unprecedented wave of consolidation among the shipping lines. In the future, the main East-West trade lanes, which are so important to us, will be dominated by the three major alliances 2M, OCEAN Alliance and THE Alliance. For EUROGATE this represents a great opportunity, because with our North Sea terminals in Bremerhaven, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven we offer the alliances a wide range of capabilities for clearing their vessels – including the world’s biggest megaliners of the future with transport capacities in excess of 20,000 TEUs. In recent years, EUROGATE has time and again proved its mettle in an intensive competitive environment. To ensure that this remains so, we are aiming to continually improve our performance. We want to innovate and are focusing closely on the driving forces of technology and digitalisation. This also includes the introduction of automation processes. As the public is aware, we are currently planning a pilot project for the automation of straddle carriers at our Wilhelmshaven location. Further decisions on this have yet to be taken.”

Infrastructure development: the shipping companies decide

Such projects target the future viability of our container terminals in a changing industry environment. In March 2017, the first ultra-large container ship >20,000 TEUs, the “MOL Triumph” with a transport capacity of 20,170 TEUs, was delivered. Others are set to follow and be put into service on the Far East-North Europe transport routes. Container terminal operators must prepare for this and be ready to offer shipping companies productive and efficient handling services if they are to remain competitive. The decisive factors in this are not only a modern superstructure, but also a well-developed infrastructure. Regrettably, there is still no progress in the matter of the two so urgently needed fairway adjustments. To date, no definitive schedule has been drawn up for the extension of the Outer Weser and the deepening of the River Elbe is not likely to be completed before 2020 at the earliest. Other major infrastructure projects such as construction of the A20 motorway and the upgrading of the Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) will take several more years to complete. All this sends out negative signals internationally and is a competitive disadvantage for Germany as a maritime location. Ultimately it’s the shipping companies that decide which ports are attractive for them and which ports they include in their transport routes. With a network now numbering 12 locations, EUROGATE is able to offer an outstanding range of services at its container terminals.

EUROGATE in Germany

One positive piece of news was the decision of the newly established Ocean Alliance to include EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven, Germany’s only deep-water port, in its network. This means two major alliances representing eight shipping lines now offer services for Wilhelmshaven (2M: Maersk Line with Hamburg Süd, MSC, Hyundai Merchants Marine; Ocean Alliance: CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL). EUROGATE expects this to give the location a further boost, coupled with a wider range of transport and logistics services. In 2016, the container terminal again recorded a positive development with growth in handling volume of 12.9 per cent to 481,720 TEUs (previous year: 426,751 TEUs).

In Bremerhaven and Hamburg container handling volumes stagnated. After a promising start in the first six months of 2016, market events had an impact in the second half-year. Bremerhaven handled a total of 5,487,198 TEUs (2015: 5,521,199 TEUs), while EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg handled 2,265,439 TEUs (2015: 2,285,993 TEUs).

EUROGATE International

The development at EUROGATE’s CONTSHIP ITALIA holding was very encouraging. The Italian terminals increased their container throughput by 4.6 per cent to 5,012,216 TEUs. Particularly worth mentioning is the growth at Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioia Tauro, Calabria. After a number of difficult years, the terminal’s handling figures were again up to 2,749,074 TEUs, almost 10 per cent higher than in 2015 (2,505,393 TEUs). The CONTSHIP subsidiary Sogemar is planning to build a new container railway here with an investment volume of EUR 40 million. CONTSHIP ITALIA’s strategy is to establish better and faster connections between the southern ports and central Europe by extending its rail freight services in the South-North corridor.

The EUROGATE Group now with 12 locations

EUROGATE is continuing to pursue its expansive network strategy. Since 29 January 2017, the international group has had a new member: EUROGATE Container Terminal Limassol, Cyprus. The Cypriot container terminal ideally complements the network in the Mediterranean. With Tangier (Morocco) to the west, Gioia Tauro and Cagliari (Italy) in the centre and Limassol to the east, the EUROGATE Group can now offer container shipments throughout the entire Mediterranean region. EUROGATE Container Terminal Limassol has an annual handling capacity of 500,000 TEUs.

Intermodal transport

In Germany, volumes transported by rail stagnated at 560,305 TEUs, analogously to the volumes handled by the seaports (2015: 556,879 TEUs), whereas truck transports increased by 11.6 per cent to 84,790 TEUs (2015: 75,988 TEUs). EUROGATE Intermodal (EGIM) is

continuously extending its transport services offering. Only recently, EGIM announced a new connection between Munich and Budapest aimed at reinforcing Munich as a hub for shipments from Southern Germany, Italy and Slovenia to South-East Europe and Istanbul.

The intermodal arm of the CONTSHIP ITALIA Group recorded significant growth in 2016 and transported 271,418 TEUs, 10 per cent more than in 2015 (246,799 TEUs). The 16.67 per cent shareholding in Contrail Logística S.A. with headquarters in São Paolo (Brazil) acquired in October 2015 by the EUROGATE International GmbH subsidiary also showed a positive development in 2016 with 30,720 TEUs transported, despite the economic crisis in Brazil. At 21,027 TEUs transported, the intermodal transport volume of the Portuguese shareholding in 2016 was 1.5 per cent down on 2015 (21,348 TEUs). Overall, the EUROGATE Group’s intermodal segment recorded an increase of 6.4 per cent to 968,260 TEUs (2015: 909,595 TEUs).

Outlook for 2017

2017 will be a challenging year for the EUROGATE Group. The container industry will face many changes. EUROGATE will listen to the markets and closely follow the impacts of developments in world politics, which with certain protectionist tendencies are causing a certain amount of consternation throughout the global economy. With its network of 12 locations, the Group is on the whole broadly and soundly positioned to respond to possible political repercussions on global trade in the maritime competitive environment.

Key figures for the EUROGATE Group 2016

Container handling volumes in 2016 at a glance