Hutchison Ports strengthens foothold in Rotterdam
Hutchison Ports, a worldwide operator of maritime terminals, will tranship containers at the Port of Rotterdam by using three reloading facilities. This has become possible due to the latest acquisition. The Hong Kong-based company purchased the container terminal from APM Terminals.
After 18 months of negotiations and legal proceedings, Hutchison Ports and APM Terminals have signed a sales contract related to the future of the Rotterdam container terminal APM Terminals Rotterdam (APMTR). The reloading facility with 13 gantry cranes and the 1,600-metre-long deep-water quay will be transferred from APM Terminals to Hutchison Ports.
APMTR is located in the Maasvlakte area, close to the ECT Delta terminal operated by Hutchison Ports. This will strengthen the position of the Hong Kong-based company at the European largest container port. “We already handle the majority of containers in the port through ECT’s Delta and Euromax terminals. The addition of APMTR will further enhance our ability to offer a first-class and flexible service to our customers,” Clemence Cheng, managing director at Hutchison Ports Europe, said.
Competitive landscape
The deal between Hutchison Ports and APM Terminals was approved by the Netherlands Authority for Consumer and Markets (ACM) in October 2020. ACM did not find any significant effects on competition between terminal operators in the Port of Rotterdam. “After the acquisition, sufficient competition will remain in this sector between the three active terminal-services companies in the Port of Rotterdam. Competition results in competitive prices, high-quality service, and innovation. The acquisition will only lead to a small change in the competitive landscape,” Martijn Snoep, Chairman of the Board of ACM, commented on the decision of the antitrust authority.
It is worth noting that APM Terminals will continue its activity in the Port of Rotterdam, as it also owns a terminal on Maasvlakte 2. The third terminal operator in the Port of Rotterdam is Rotterdam World Gateway, which owns a large container terminal in the same area.