There is already one container terminal in the port of Aarhus, operated by Maersk’s subsidiary, APM Terminals.
According to Finans, MSC’s discussions with the port of Aarhus were the reason Maersk sued the port in July this year. The Danish shipping company is asking the court to impose a temporary injunction preventing the Aarhus port from entering any agreements regarding a new container terminal.
Previously, port officials informed Maersk that they were pleased with their cooperation with APM Terminals but were considering creating a new terminal in an unused part of the port. The port authority of Aarhus was said to be debating the issue of the future terminal operator. The goal of the port is to stop the decline in cargo volumes.
APM Terminals has promised to invest 2 billion Danish kroner (around 300 million US dollars) in expanding the port’s capacity, but now threatens to withdraw from the investment if a second operator is allowed into the facility.
Maersk’s subsidiary claims that the port’s decision to seek a new operator is a violation of a 2020 memorandum of understanding between the port of Aarhus and APM Terminals.
Lars Jensen, a shipping industry expert and head of the consultancy firm Vespucci Maritime, explained the sharp dispute over the small port to the Shippingwatch website. Despite handling 70% of Denmark’s container traffic, the port of Aarhus has little significance on an international scale.
“There are many ports with multiple operators. The key issue for operators and clients is whether there will be enough volumes to achieve economies of scale. In the case of the port of Aarhus, it is unclear whether this can be achieved with two operators,” says Lars Jensen.
So far, APM Terminals, as the sole operator in the port, is doing well. The company’s revenues from the terminal in Aarhus grew over five years (from 2018 to 2023) from 447 million kroner to 777 million kroner. In 2023, net profit from operations at the terminal amounted to 136 million kroner.
Adding an extra layer of intrigue to the rivalry between these two giants is the fact that they were recently close partners on the world’s oceans. In early 2023, both shipping companies announced that the 2M alliance, formed in 2015, would end in January 2025. Maersk has moved on from its split with MSC and formed a partnership with the German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd.
Additionally, MSC’s CEO is Soeren Toft, who previously headed Maersk.