Blank sailings hit HHLA hard

The huge global drop in economy activity and the resulting downturn in the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic has heavily impacted Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), with significant falls in volume and revenue.

In the container segment, throughput at HHLA’s container terminals declined by 11% to 3,345,000 teu. Of this total, 3,058,000 teu was handled at the three Hamburg terminals, representing a 12% decrease, mainly due to blank sailings as a result of COVID-19.

The blank sailings led to a considerable fall in cargo volumes from the Far East while feeder traffic with the Baltic region decreased markedly and could not be offset by growth in the German and British shipping regions.