The Budget Committee deliberates on the MSC agreement.

Delivering goods by sea. - The Budget Committee deliberates on the MSC agreement.

The Finance Committee in Hamburg's Parliament will discuss the controversial move of the world's largest shipping company, MSC, into Hamburg Hafenlogistik AG (HHLA) on Tuesday at 5 pm. The committee for public enterprises and the economic committee have already approved the plan of the red-green senate, with votes from the ruling coalition, so it's expected that this body will give its approval as well. If this happens, the parliament could approve the deal before the summer break.

The senate aims to bring the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) based in Geneva into the Hamburg Port and Logistics AG (HHLA) to stabilize container handling. The city and the company belonging to the Italian shipping family Aponte plan to jointly manage HHLA as a joint venture in the future, with the city holding a majority stake of 50.1 percent. Previously, the city owned around 70 percent of the publicly-traded HHLA.

In exchange, the world's largest shipping company, MSC, plans to build its German headquarters in Hamburg, boost cargo handling in the port from 2025 onwards, and increase the number of standard containers (TEU) to one million per year by 2031. MSC and the city also intend to increase the equity capital of HHLA by 450 million euros. The port has recently faced challenges. Cargo handling of seagoing vessels decreased by 4.7 percent compared to 2022 to 114.3 million tons - a low since 2009.

There's significant opposition to the deal - from works councils, the trade union Verdi, and many HHLA employees. To reiterate this, they plan to hand over a corresponding letter to the chairman of the Finance Committee, Mathias Petersen (SPD), at a demonstration on Tuesday at 4:15 pm in front of the town hall. Experts have also voiced concerns in two expert hearings.

Read also:

1. Despite the controversies, discussions about the potential entry of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) into Hamburg Hafenlogistik AG (HHLA) by acquiring a majority stake from the city of Hamburg will continue in the Budget Committee of Hamburg's Parliament.
2. The move to bring MSC into HHLA is expected to help address the recent challenges in cargo handling, as the shipping company plans to increase the number of standard containers (TEU) to one million per year by 2031 and boost cargo handling in the port from 2025.
3. The Italian shipping family Aponte and MSC intend to establish their German headquarters in Hamburg, which could potentially attract more businesses and investments to the city, benefitting its citizens and local economy.
4. Concerns regarding the potential impact on the finances and operations of HHLA have been raised in expert hearings, and the Budget Committee will be responsible for assessing these concerns and determining whether the proposal aligns with Germany's overall budget and shipping policies.

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