New Owner of Spain Terminal
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), the nation's only major shipping line, is expected to secure a container terminal in Europe, one of the key assets of cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping Co. HMM announced on November 25 that it has been selected as the preferred bidder to acquire the Total Terminal International Algeciras S.A in Spain from Hanjin Shipping.
HMM submitted the bid proposal on the 3rd and it was chosen as the preferred bidder by the sale organizer on the 24th. The company is expected to conduct due diligence from the 28th for two to three weeks before presenting a final bid by the end of next month to acquire 100 percent ownership in the terminal.
The Algeciras terminal, which covers a total area of 357,750 square meters, can handle containers of up to 1.86 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. The modern terminal also allows mega-size container ships with more than 10,000 TEU to enter the port. Currently, the terminal is being used by global container carriers including Denmark’s Maersk Group, France’s CMA CGM S.A., China’s COSCO Shipping Corp., and Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K-Line). The terminal has been leased by the Algeciras port authority until July 2040.
The terminal, in particular, is considered a strategic hub and a transshipment port as it is located where the south-north seaway that connects Europe and South America intersects with the east-west seaway that connects Asia and North America, linking the Mediterranean, North Europe, and North America.
In addition, the terminal is expected to boost the HMM’s medium and long-term competitiveness since it is located near the new emerging North American markets with high growth potentials.