Talks between shipping company Cma Cgm and terminal operator Eurogate for a stake in Hamburg’s container terminal reportedly restarted in October 2025. Industry analyst Alphaliner reports that the French group is considering acquiring a share in the Container Terminal Hamburg, controlled by Eurogate. The move would enable the carrier to consolidate its direct presence in Europe’s third-largest container port by throughput. Neither company has made any official statements, and the details of a possible agreement remain confidential.
These reports mark a potential shift from the unsuccessful negotiations that ended in late 2024, when discussions between the two groups broke down without tangible results. In July 2024, Alphaliner had revealed that Cma Cgm and Eurogate were in talks over a joint project for the development of the Burchardkai terminal, part of the expansion known as Westerweiterung. The initiative, valued at around one billion euros, envisaged two new berths for large-capacity vessels and a potential increase of two million TEU in annual throughput.
Hamburg’s authorities had encouraged Eurogate to find a shipping line partner to support the investment, following the model already adopted with Msc and public operator Hhla. However, by December 2024, The Loadstar and Le Marin confirmed that the talks had stalled. The German outlet Hansa described the negotiations as “shipwrecked”, explaining that the parties had failed to agree on financial terms and the governance structure of the future joint venture.
Meanwhile, Eurogate continued its infrastructure plans, signing in July 2025 a contract with the Hamburg Port Authority for the realisation of the Westerweiterung expansion. The project, managed by Eurokai and Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg, adds 38 hectares of operational area and two new berths for megamax vessels, with a total investment of around 1.8 billion euros. The expansion will raise the terminal’s capacity from 4 to about 6 million TEU per year and introduce a fully automated handling model with electric vehicles and integrated digital technologies.
Operationally, Cma Cgm already maintains established links with Eurogate at German ports. The French carrier regularly uses Hamburg’s Cth terminal for its maritime services. Cooperation between the two groups has also extended to environmental sustainability: in May 2024, the vessel Cma Cgm Vasco de Gama became the first container ship to use Eurogate’s new shore power system, inaugurated that same month.
Cma Cgm’s entry into the Hamburg terminal would strengthen the presence of major global carriers in the German port, following investments by Cosco in the Container Terminal Tollerort and by Msc in Hhla. For Eurogate, collaboration with a global-scale shipping line would ensure stable traffic volumes and shared development costs, in a context of intense competition among Northern European ports.
