HMM on track to buy Hanjin’s Spain terminal

Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has been selected as a preferred bidder to acquire former rival Hanjin Shipping’s terminal in Europe, the company said Friday, and is expected to ink the main contract to acquire 100 percent of the facility by the end of December.

The Terminal International Algeciras, located on the southern tip of Spain in one of Europe’s biggest ports, can handle 1.86 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo a year. According to HMM, it is a transshipment hub connecting the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and North America.

The terminal, big enough to dock over 10,000 TEU ships, is used by Danish line Maersk, French line CMA CGM and China’s Cosco, as well as Japanese shipping companies.

“The expansion of terminals is aimed at securing a stable base for business and enhancing market competitiveness in the long run,” HMM said in a statement Friday.

“By acquiring more of Hanjin Shipping’s core assets and building new ships, we will strengthen our competitiveness.”

HMM currently owns California United Terminals and Washington United Terminals in the United States, along with Kaohsiung Hyundai Terminal in Taiwan.

It also owns a 20 percent stake in Rotterdam World Gateway, a terminal for container ships in the Netherlands. The Algeciras terminal will be HMM’s first wholly-owned European terminal if it follows through with the deal.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]