News / HMM widens its port terminal portfolio with Hanjin's TTI facility at Algeciras

As the sale of Hanjin assets gathers pace, Korean compatriot Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has revealed it will acquire its bankrupt rival’s terminal in the Spanish transhipment hub of Algeciras.

“HMM is expected to finalise its purchase of a 100% stake in Total Terminal International (TTI) Algeciras in late December, following due diligence on the assets starting on November 28,” HMM said in a statement.

The 35.7ha terminal has annual capacity of 1.86m teu, and “is one of the lucrative assets of the cash-strapped shipping line”, HMM added.

The purchase will add to HMM’s portfolio which includes the California United terminal in Los Angeles (on an area of land that is leased from APM Termanil’s Pier 400 facility), the Washington United Terminal in Tacoma and the Kaohsiung Hyundai Terminal in Taiwan. It has expansion plans in place at all three sites.

It also has 20% stake in the newly opened Rotterdam World Gateway container terminal in Rotterdam’s Maasvlakte II area.

The Algeciras facility is leased from the port authority until July 2040.

“HMM looks forwards to expanding the terminal business and building long-term growth with the new terminal.

The line added that was planning to boost its competitiveness by “taking over more of Hanjin Shipping’s lucrative assets and constructing new vessels”, said company officials.

The TTI Algeciras terminal was the second box facility at port when it opened in 2010, joining the established APM Terminals hub, and it has one 650-metre quay and one 550-metre quay with 18.5-metre and 17.5-metre draughts respectively. It is equipped with eight ship-to-shore cranes and an automatic yard stacking system.

The two terminals are, however, set to see increased competition for liner services after the port authority opened a tender for a third terminal this month. Interested bidders have until the end of March to submit bids for either a dedicated or common user facility with a quay length of 810 metres with depth alongside of 18.5 metres.

Last year the port saw throughput of 4.5, teu, while the first six months of this year saw volumes grow 13% to reach 2.3m teu.