Hapag-Lloyd now really African
The deal is officially closed: Hapag-Lloyd is taking over the container liner business of German carrier Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL). The carriers had agreed on the framework agreement in March 2022, and the transaction has now been approved by all responsible antitrust authorities.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd: “We will now fully integrate DAL’s container liner activities into our business.” DAL is considered to be a valuable addition particularly for the service offering from and to South Africa, Hapag-Lloyd said in a press release.
Experienced in the transportation of containerised cargo with four liner services between Europe, South Africa and the Indian Ocean, DAL, also headquartered in Hamburg, is represented with own offices in Germany and South Africa as well as through third-party agents in 47 countries worldwide.
Its liner business (including agencies) employs about 150 people. The fleet consists of one owned 6,600 teu container ships and around 17,800 boxes (owned and leased), which will be taken over as part of the acquisition. In 2021, Hapag-Lloyd had acquired Africa-specialised carrier Nile Dutch, a specialist for traffic to and from West Africa. (sh)