Q: What is the status of the ZIM transaction?
A: "We have entered into a binding merger agreement with ZIM in February, which has been approved by the Company’s shareholders. We are currently working with the various regulatory bodies to obtain the necessary approvals."

Q: Why does the company still believe the transaction makes strategic sense?
A: "The deal rationale is pretty clear: securing our position in the market, get access to an efficient and modern fleet, access to a great team and a broad customer base. And of course, in the end, it's also about synergies, which we expect to be between 300 and 500 million dollars.

The business combination of Hapag-Lloyd and ZIM would secure Hapag-Lloyd’s market position as the fifth-largest container shipping company worldwide with a modern fleet of over 400 vessels, a standing capacity of over 3 million TEU, and an annual transport volume of more than 18 million TEU."

Q: What additional costs did Hapag-Lloyd incur as a result of the Middle East conflict? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “The large majority of the USD 600 million was higher oil prices. There were also the land bridges we had to build up, insurance costs and additional storage costs for boxes that were stuck for a while.”

Q: How has Hapag-Lloyd maintained supply chains in the region? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “We offer customers alternative routings. We have set up a number of land bridges to countries in the Upper Gulf, and that is working well. It causes quite a lot of additional cost, but we are able to keep those supply chains going.”

Q: What is the expected path for a return to the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “The situation today is certainly better than it was a year or a year and a half ago, and I would still expect to see a gradual return to the Red Sea. That will not happen overnight and will be done in close consultation with our partners. On the Strait of Hormuz, it is much more difficult to predict. We hope it opens up soon, but we are not there yet.”

Q: What role does the Red Sea currently play for Hapag-Lloyd? Are vessels still operating in the region?
A: "The Red Sea currently plays only a limited role in our overall network, as the vast majority of our services continue to be routed around the Cape of Good Hope. Nevertheless, the Red Sea remains an important route for global trade.

The SE3 and SE4 service within the Gemini network is currently routed through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, using vessels operated by our Gemini partner Maersk. This decision was taken following a careful assessment of the security situation. We continue to monitor developments closely and will adjust the network if circumstances change. The safety of the crews and vessels, as well as the protection of the cargo, remain the determining factors."

Q: What is the current status of Hapag-Lloyd vessels that were affected by the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz?
A: "All Hapag-Lloyd vessels that were affected by the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz and had been waiting in the Persian Gulf to depart, have since safely left the Gulf. This was only done after careful assessment of the security situation and in close coordination with the relevant authorities, security partners and our teams on board and ashore. For security reasons, we will not comment on individual vessel names, routings or exact timings."

Q: What does the crisis show about Hapag-Lloyd’s network resilience?
A: “This crisis has shown that our network is resilient. The impact on the rest of our global network has been limited, and the hub-and-spoke structure we operate in Gemini together with Maersk has again proven to be robust. It underlines that such a structure can be more resilient than purely point-to-point operations.”

Q: How is the Gemini network performing? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “We had a dip because of the bad weather at the beginning of the year, but still remained well above others. Over the last couple of months, we have been back above the 90% threshold, which I think is really good in today’s world.”

Q: How do you assess the current balance between supply and demand? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “Despite a large order book, we do not see a big imbalance between supply and demand today. It is actually fairly tight, which explains why short-term rates are up so much.”

Q: How is strong growth on dominant trades affecting equipment and capacity needs? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “The imbalance is getting worse. That means the cost of empty boxes is going up. With overall growth of something like 15% over the three-year period, we still need 25% more capacity because that is driven by the dominant legs. It also makes the business relatively more asset-intensive because we need to grow the fleet faster than the overall flow of goods.”

Q: What is the outlook for the Transpacific trade? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “An outlook on shipping is always very difficult. Right now, we still see strong demand into the US, so at the moment it looks like a pretty normal peak season. We still see strong volume today, and I think it is going to be quite normal and then tail off a little towards Golden Week.”

Q: Has container shipping changed structurally? (Statement by our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen)
A: “To say that something has changed structurally in container shipping is probably a stretch. We know that this business can be very volatile and that swings from profit to loss, and vice versa, can be very quick. I personally do not think that the seasonality we have seen this year is very unusual.”