Beirut Port hub for Hamburg Süd

The German container shipping company Hamburg Süd has adopted Port of Beirut (PoB) as a transshipment hub for its operations in east Mediterranean.

Samir Moukawem, chairman of Sealine Group and Hamburg Süd’s official local representative, said: “The shipping company decided to use the port as a hub to Lattakia and east European ports because it foresees a good future in Syria and the region.”

Large vessels used to carry up to 7,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent (TEU) containers from the Far East and unload in Lattakia. Instead, mother vessels coming from the Far East are unloading cargo at PoB. “Feeder vessels are then sent to Limassol, Greece, Turkey, and Syria,” he said.

Hamburg Süd is also dispatching vessels from ‘North Ports’, consisting of the ports in Hamburg, Antwerp, and Rotterdam and unloading at the PoB. Cargo is then sent using feeder vessels to Lattakia.

Hamburg Süd will send up to 15,000 TEUs per year. The port cannot process much larger quantities, according to Moukawem.