In late November, shipping company MSC integrated Hamburg port into their feeder service operating between Great Britain and several Baltic Sea ports, according to the Port of Hamburg's release. Four containerships with capacities between 2,000 and 3,500 TEU will be deployed in the Baltic Loop 3 service that will call at Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Portbury (Bristol), Liverpool, Greenock, Le Havre, Antwerp, Tallinn and Riga.
"The inclusion of Hamburg in the MSC liner service "Baltic Loop 3" underlines the importance of the Port of Hamburg as a hub for container traffic with the Baltic Sea region and the UK. In the first three quarters of 2021, we see an increase of 3.1 percent in container traffic with the Baltic Sea region compared to the same period last year. Container throughput in traffic with the UK settled at around 186,000 TEU in the same period, only just below the previous year's result," says Marina Basso Michael, Port of Hamburg Marketing Regional Director Europe.
Hamburg‘s most important connection to the Baltics is via the Kiel Canal. More than 30 million tons of bulk and general cargo are moved annualy between Hamburg and the Baltic Sea region.