HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The plans of Hamburg-based shipping line Hapag-Lloyd to acquire a stake in South Korean shipping company Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) will come to nothing. "We are out of this process," Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said Monday. Hapag-Lloyd would have been a good partner for the world's eighth-largest shipping company, the head of the world's fifth-largest shipping company expressed his conviction. But the South Koreans have now decided to pursue their goal with other parties, he said. "I think that's fine." It was clear from the start that this could happen, he said.

HMM has 71 large containerships, about 790,000 standard containers (TEUs) and a 2.9 percent market share, according to industry service Alphaliner. HMM operates primarily on Pacific routes, where Hapag-Lloyd does not have as strong a presence. The Hamburg-based shipping line, with its 257 large container ships, nearly 1.9 million TEU and a market share of 6.8 percent, operates mainly on the Atlantic, but has recently also made gains in the Middle East and African business.

Hapag-Lloyd wanted to take over 38.9 percent of the HMM shares, which the state-owned Koranic banks KDB and KCOB want to sell. The two shipping companies have known each other for a long time, working together as partners in "The Alliance" shipping association, for example. Jansen said there is no rush to find other investment candidates. "We certainly have no urgency to do anything in the foreseeable future." He said nothing about the reasons for the withdrawal. Now HMM has only Korean bidders, according to media reports.

So far, the restrictions on ship passages on the Panama Canal due to the prolonged drought have not been a major drama for Habben Jansen. "These days, if we have a problem that lasts six weeks, everyone thinks it will last forever. I think that's a bit exaggerated," Habben Jansen said. However, if it became a permanent problem, Hapag-Lloyd would consider using the Suez Canal more.

In general, Habben Jansen believes the seas are getting rougher for shipping companies. Freight rates are coming under pressure, demand is falling, and at the same time more and more new ships are being delivered. After the Corona years with extreme profits, Hapag-Lloyd will nevertheless achieve the third-best result in the company's history this year, Habben Jansen said with conviction. So far, the shipping line expects to close 2023 with earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) of between 2 and 4 billion euros. Last year, the figure was 17.5 billion euros./klm/DP/ngu