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Hapag-Lloyd celebrates 50 years since merger

Hapag-Lloyd has released a short film to celebrate 50 years since the merger that created what has become one of the biggest names in container shipping.

Marcus Hand, Editor

September 1, 2020

1 Min Read
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September sees the German line celebrated 50 years since the merger of Hapag and North German Lloyd to become Hapag-Lloyd.

The two rival companies came to together to enter the nascent container shipping business founding the joint subsidiary Hapag-Lloyd Container Linien GmbH in the late 60’s. In autumn 1968, the 736 teu vessels Weser Express and Elbe Express inaugurated the first European fully containerised service across the Atlantic to New York.

With the rapid growth of container shipping large scale fleet replacement meant investments that too much for a single company leading to the merger and creation of Hapag-Lloyd in 1970.

Today Hapag-Lloyd has around 240 vessels and 120 liner services worldwide.

“Today, we rank among the largest container shipping lines worldwide. The triumphal march of the container, which the higher-ups at North German Lloyd and Hapag already predicted back in 1970, is still unstoppable. About one in every 10 containers transported on the seven seas today is on a Hapag-Lloyd vessel,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, ceo of the board of Hapag-Lloyd.

A brief anniversary film can be viewed here.

About the Author

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

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