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Ocean Nov 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Hapag-Lloyd closes 25% stake in Maasvlakte II

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd now share a Rotterdam quay, and Gemini cargo will stay on it

Hapag-Lloyd has completed its purchase of a 25% stake in APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, an automated container terminal in Rotterdam. Shipping Telegraph reported the closing on 6 November 2026. The relevant antitrust authorities approved the deal without conditions. Hapag-Lloyd bought the stake through Hanseatic Global Terminals (HGT), its terminals division. APM Terminals, Maersk’s port arm, keeps operational control. Neither side disclosed a price.

The deal was first announced on 19 August. At that point it still needed regulatory approval. That approval has now come through, with no conditions attached.

What we think it means

Our view is simple. This deal is about where ships call, not about terminal dividends.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd run Gemini together. Gemini is their joint East–West network, which shares ships and slots across the main trades. A network like that lives or dies on a small number of hub terminals that work every day. Maasvlakte II is one of those hubs in North Europe.

Until now, only Maersk owned it. Hapag-Lloyd was a customer. Now Hapag-Lloyd owns a quarter. That changes the incentives. Both Gemini partners now have their own capital tied to the same Rotterdam quay. Neither has much reason to shift volume elsewhere in Rotterdam, because that would weaken an asset they both own.

So we read this as a long lock-in. In our view, Gemini’s North Europe cargo stays concentrated at Maasvlakte II for years, not months. That is good news for planning. It is less good news for anyone hoping to spread risk across terminals.

What the companies said

The companies were open about the Gemini link. When the deal was announced in August, Dheeraj Bhatia, HGT’s chief executive, said: “The terminal is a key element for Gemini Cooperation”. He added that it “fits well with our strategy to build a stronger terminal portfolio in core markets”.

He also tied it directly to service quality: “With the planned investment in Rotterdam, we will further enhance the efficiency and reliability of our network.”

Keith Svendsen, chief executive of APM Terminals, put it this way: “Hapag-Lloyd’s investment is a strong vote of confidence in a terminal that is critical to the Gemini network”. He set out his priorities too: “That means improving safety, quality, delivery and cost, in that order”.

On completion, Bhatia said: “We are very pleased to have completed this transaction and become a shareholder in Maasvlakte II,” and “Together with APM Terminals, we look forward to supporting the terminal’s continued growth and development,” according to Shipping Telegraph.

Note what is missing. There is no price. There is no figure for how much of Gemini’s Rotterdam volume runs through the terminal. And there is no completion date for the expansion. Those are the numbers forwarders would most like to see.

A bigger terminal, still being built

Maasvlakte II has been running since 2015. Maritime Executive, reporting the August announcement, said expansion work has been under way since the start of 2025. It also reported that about 80% of crane movements are automated, with the rest done remotely.

According to APM Terminals, the expansion adds 1,000m of deep-sea berth. That doubles the total to 2,000m. It also adds yard space, four extra rail tracks and more automated equipment, including automated terminal tractors. These are driverless trucks that move boxes between the quay and the yard. Once complete, the terminal is expected to grow towards 5.4m TEU a year. TEU means twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure for a container.

The rail tracks matter more than they sound. More rail capacity at the quay means more boxes can leave Rotterdam by train rather than truck or barge. For inland destinations in Germany, central Europe and beyond, that can shorten dwell time, the days a box sits at the terminal waiting to move.

The catch is timing. Rotterdam’s port authority, in its review of 2025, said investments are under way at several terminals including APMT2, Euromax and RWG. Its senior business intelligence adviser, Frank van der Laan, said: “This year will still be quite challenging, but from 2027 capacity will increase and waiting times are expected to decline.” In other words, the relief is real but it is not here yet.

Hapag-Lloyd is buying quays across Europe

This deal is part of a pattern. Hapag-Lloyd set up HGT in 2023 as a fully owned subsidiary based in Rotterdam. It has been adding stakes quickly.

In January 2026, Hapag-Lloyd said HGT held stakes in 21 port terminals in 11 countries, with one under construction. In March 2025 it bought a 60% majority stake in a terminal operator in Le Havre, France’s main container port.

By June 2026, in a release on a planned 20% stake in Eurogate’s Container Terminal Hamburg, Hapag-Lloyd described HGT’s portfolio as stakes in 26 marine terminals across 13 countries in three regions. The stated goal is more than 30 by 2030. The same release said HGT also plans to raise its stake in the TC3 terminal at Tangier, Morocco, from 10% to 20%. Bhatia said then: “The agreement marks another important step in strengthening our Terminal Portfolio in Europe.”

Put those together and you see Hamburg, Le Havre, Tangier and now Rotterdam. That covers Hapag-Lloyd’s home port, a French gateway, a Mediterranean transhipment hub and Europe’s biggest port. Our view is that Hapag-Lloyd wants a stake in every European terminal its network depends on. Owning part of the quay gives it a seat at the table on berth windows, investment and priority when things get tight.

In our view it also fits a wider trend. Terminal access has become a choke point for carriers. Owning a share of that choke point is one way to make sure your ships get worked first.

Why concentration cuts both ways

Gemini’s pitch to shippers has been reliability. Last year it delivered on that. Sea-Intelligence data reported by gCaptain in July 2025 showed Gemini at 85.4% on-time arrival on Asia–North Europe in May 2025, the best of any alliance. The overall figure for the trade was 66.8%.

The same report also showed the strain. It cited Kuehne + Nagel putting Rotterdam terminal yard use at 80–85% at the time. It noted that, according to most port analysts, congestion begins above 75%. A yard that full slows everything: vessel turns, truck slots and rail loading.

That is the trade-off for forwarders. Hub-and-spoke networks like Gemini concentrate cargo in a few terminals. When those terminals run well, schedules hold and transhipment is smooth. When they hit trouble, there is less slack to fall back on. The port authority’s 2025 review listed fog early in the year, two heavy storms in October and a long lashers’ strike as events that hit productivity. Lashers are the dock workers who secure containers on board ships. Any of those can return.

What forwarders should do now

First, assume Maasvlakte II is the Rotterdam terminal for Gemini cargo, and plan around it. That means checking which rail operators and barge services work that terminal, and booking inland capacity with that in mind.

Second, watch the expansion milestones. The new berth and rail tracks are what turn this deal into shorter dwell times. Until they open, treat Rotterdam as tight, especially around winter weather and any labour action.

Third, use the ownership change in carrier talks. Both Gemini partners now own the terminal. That gives shippers and forwarders a fair question to ask: what berth reliability and dwell time will you commit to at a terminal you both own?

Fourth, if you run Asia–North Europe cargo for inland Europe, compare Gemini’s Rotterdam rail options with alternatives through Hamburg. Hapag-Lloyd is buying into Hamburg too, so Gemini may give shippers more than one owned gateway over time.

Our prediction

Our call is that no Gemini Asia–North Europe service moves its Rotterdam call away from Maasvlakte II before the end of June 2027. With both partners now shareholders, we see no commercial reason for either to send Gemini volume to a rival Rotterdam terminal.

We also expect HGT to announce at least one more European terminal stake by the end of Q1 2027. Hapag-Lloyd’s own target of more than 30 terminals by 2030 leaves room for several more deals. The pace this year suggests the next one will not take long.

Sources

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