Hapag-Lloyd and German carrier Deutsche Afrika-Linien signed a framework agreement under which Hapag-Lloyd will acquire the container liner business of DAL. With a history dating back to the year 1890, DAL is an established liner shipping company for the transportation of containerised cargo and operates with four liner services between Europe, South Africa and the Indian Ocean. Headquartered in Hamburg, the Africa expert is represented with own offices in Germany and South Africa as well as through third-party agents in 47 countries worldwide. Their liner business (including agencies) employs more than 150 people. DAL owns a 6,589 TEU container ship and operates a container fleet of around 17,800 boxes (owned and leased), which will be taken over as part of the acquisition.

“Africa remains an important strategic growth market. Particularly for our service offering from and to South Africa, DAL is a valuable addition allowing us to offer our customers a better network and additional port coverage in this region. We are very much looking forward to welcoming the DAL colleagues. With their broad experience and market knowledge, they will significantly support us to further grow in Africa,” says Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.

Only last year, Hapag-Lloyd had acquired Africa-specialised carrier NileDutch, which significantly strengthened the carrier’s presence and service offering to and from West Africa. This growth-oriented strategy was also underlined by new office openings in Kenya, Morocco and Senegal in 2021 and the establishment of a Quality Service Center (QSC) in Mauritius in 2020.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the responsible antitrust authorities.