HHLA's Seaport Terminals

Our seaward container and multi-function terminals in Hamburg, Tallinn, Trieste and Odessa are high-performance logistics hubs for global trade. They are complemented by specialised terminal facilities for general cargo, project cargo, RoRo, fruit handling and bulk goods.

Our HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg is a pioneer in terms of efficiency and sustainability thanks to its high degree of automation and compact layout. Most of the terminal vehicles and handling equipment are electrified. CTA is also home to Europe's largest container rail terminal. Four modern rail gantry cranes with rotating trolleys ensure that trains are quickly loaded and discharged on nine tracks, each over 700 metres long. In this way, CTA helps to transfer more containers from road to environmentally friendly rail.

Access and roadway plan

The first steel boxes were handled at our HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai in Hamburg in 1968. Today, the largest container handling facility handles almost one in three containers in the Port of Hamburg. 27 container gantry cranes work on the thousands of ships that moor here every year, and several hundred railway wagons are loaded and discharged every day. The ongoing modernisation programme is gradually increasing capacity and holding the terminal in readiness for the largest container ships.

Access and roadway plan

Our HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) in Hamburg boasts a compact and flexible facility. Straddle carriers with environmentally friendly drives stack the steel boxes in four layers and ensure efficient use of the available space. Backfilled harbour basins have been developed to expand yard space. Thanks to our 14 container gantry cranes, the waterfront is ideally equipped to handle the largest container ships. In addition, the CTT rail terminal can handle block trains.

Access and roadway plan

Our Container Terminal Odessa (CTO) is the largest and most modern container terminal in Ukraine, setting standards for quality and sustainability. We have been operating the terminal since 2001, and in addition to containers, it also handles bulk goods, general cargo This includes capital expenditure to double rail capacity to support container rail traffic in Ukraine.

HHLA PLT Italy is our multipurpose terminal in the free port zone of Trieste. As a central component of our European HHLA logistics network, HHLA PLT Italy offers innovative solutions for the needs of the market, taking care to protect the environment and being an attractive employer and reliable partner for its stakeholders and the local population. HHLA PLT Italy offers container, RoRo and general cargo handling as well as yard and packaging services on an area of 27 hectares. The terminal also has a direct rail connection to our European HHLA network.

HHLA TK Estonia operates one of Estonia's major multipurpose terminals in the port of Muuga, near the capital Tallinn. As the market leader in container handling in Estonia, our terminal also handles bulk and general cargo and Ro-Ro traffic at seven quays. In addition, a range of yard services and container repairs are offered. Muuga is the most important Estonian cargo port and is located in a free trade zone. As a logistics hub in the Baltic region, Muuga is a major centre, especially for transit traffic. Our terminal is directly connected to the broad-gauge rail network and handles daily ro-ro liner traffic to Helsinki. 

UNIKAI Lagerei- und Speditionsgesellschaft is the largest terminal specialising in rolling cargo in the Port of Hamburg. UNIKAI handles modern RoRo and ConRo ships, but also handles project cargo and forest products that can be stored on site. As a centre of excellence for the automotive industry, UNIKAI puts together a service package ‘for everything to do with vehicles’, which includes packing numerous containers. When vehicles are loaded into containers or project cargo is handled, special biosecurity measures involving heat treatment and fumigation are carried out. The production of industrial and seaworthy packaging is also part of the range of services offered.

Hamburg is Germany's most important fruit port. Imported fruit is handled and temperature-controlled stored by HHLA Fruit and Refrigeration Centre (Frucht- und Kühl-Zentrum). Ulrich Stein Gesellschaft mbH, a fruit forwarder, then takes care of all further requirements to ensure that the goods reach the client. A verifiable, closed transport and cooling chain is guaranteed, and certification according to the International Food Standard is a matter of course. At Hamburg's multi-purpose terminal, O'Swaldkai, liner services arriving from South and Central America can also handle general cargo and containers. State-of-the-art technology and qualified personnel are available for this.

Hansaport is Germany's largest seaport terminal for bulk goods. Coal and ores are unloaded here and more than 10 percent of the total cargo handled in the Port of Hamburg is moved. This amounts to around 15 million tonnes of incoming tonnage per year. For handling, our HHLA affiliate Hansaport offers three unloading berths with a water depth of 15.1 metres for seagoing vessels, as well as a further two berths for coasters and inland waterway ships. Depending on the size of the ship and the type of goods, up to 110,000 tonnes can be unloaded in 24 hours at the quays, which are over 1,000 metres long in total. An open area of 350,000 square metres is available for the huge ore and coal dumps.

Hansaport has largely automated the interaction of gripper bridges, conveyor belts and shunting locomotives. Two-thirds of the heavy goods are transported onwards by rail, which makes ecological sense, and the rest by inland waterway ships.