In a bid to expand on its European market position, Cosco Pacific is to purchase a 35% stake in Euromax Container Terminal in Rotterdam from Hutchison Port Holdings at a total cost of US$143 million, according to JOC.com.
Cosco Pacific said in a statement: “That port has been the base port of Cosco Shipping in Northwestern Europe for a long time.
Watch: ECT: The World’s First Automated Terminal
“The board expects Cosco Shipping to continue to deploy ultra-large container vessels to the European shipping route and call the Port of Rotterdam as its major hub in the region.”
It was recently reported that China Cosco Shipping had won a 67% majority stake in Greece’s Piraeus Port, which marked the official signing worth more than $418 million.
Technical Paper: Euromax Terminal Rotterdam
This followed news that Cosco was also looking to tap into Greece’s TRAINOSE rail network in a bid to take advantage of rail connections to the Balkans and central and Eastern Europe.
At the end of March, 2016, Cosco Pacific also announced that it was looking to invest in more berths at the Port of Singapore, as part of a joint-venture with world-largest terminal operator PSA International.
With the massive wave of consolidation currently taking place in the industry, joint-venture agreements between carriers and terminals is expected to be revamped and could see new mergers buying up shares in terminals to strengthen their portfolio.
