Hamburg is the Port of Call for MSC’s Feeder Service “Baltic Loop 3”

In the second half of November, the shipping company MSC added the port of Hamburg as a new port of call in its feeder service operating between the UK and several Baltic Sea ports. Under the name “Baltic Loop 3”, a total of four container ships with capacities of 2,000-3,500 TEU are deployed.

(Hamburg) The ports of call for the feeder service are Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Portbury (Bristol), Liverpool, Greenock, Le Havre, Antwerp, Tallinn, and Riga.

“The inclusion of Hamburg in MSC’s liner service ‘Baltic Loop 3’ underscores the importance of the Port of Hamburg as a hub in 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 handling in traffic with the UK settled at around 186,000 TEU during the same period, remaining just below the previous year’s result,” says Marina Basso Michael, Regional Director Europe at Port Hamburg Marketing.

Nord-Ostsee-Kanal is the Most Important Connection

Hamburg’s most important connection to the Baltic Sea region in maritime traffic is the NOK (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal). More than 30 million tons of bulk goods and general cargo are transported annually between Hamburg and the Baltic Sea region.

Photo: © HHM/Hasenpusch Productions