France’s CMA CGM Group is expanding its European terminal footprint with plans to acquire a 20% share in Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg (CTH), one of Northern Europe’s key maritime gateways.
The Marseille-based shipping and logistics group has signed a term sheet with Eurogate, with completion targeted for the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
CTH currently handles about 4m teu annually and is regarded as one of Germany’s most efficient terminals. A planned Western Expansion project — adding 38 hectares of yard space and 1,050 metres of new quay wall — will lift capacity to around 6m teu and enable operations for next-generation container vessels.
CMA CGM already calls at CTH through its flagship FAL service, which connects Asia and Northern Europe using LNG-powered megamax vessels of 23,000 teu.
The investment fits with CMA CGM’s strategy to grow its global terminal portfolio and strengthen its network across major European ports, the group, which has stakes in 64 terminals worldwide, said, adding that the move will help enhance resilience, intermodal connectivity and low-carbon logistics across the region.
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, said the partnership would “help enhance the terminal’s capacity, strengthen its rail connections, and support its move towards more sustainable operations.”
The deal will also support Eurogate’s long-term plans to modernise Hamburg’s port infrastructure. The terminal connects directly to Eurokombi, Germany’s largest intermodal rail hub, offering fast inland links to Central and Eastern Europe.
CMA CGM’s latest investment will bolster its long-standing presence in Germany, where the group first set up offices in Hamburg and Bremen in 1991. Today, Germany forms part of its regional cluster covering five countries, with 23 weekly vessel calls across Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Wilhelmshaven.
The move also comes amid a wave of overseas liner investments in Hamburg’s terminals. In 2023, COSCO Shipping Ports finalised a 24.99% stake in Container Terminal Tollerort, while MSC, the world’s largest liner, acquired a 49.9% holding in HHLA, the city’s main terminal operator, marking a reshaping of ownership dynamics in Northern Europe’s top port.
