HHLA Project Logistics Debuts at Port of Hamburg

By Simon West

HHLA Project Logistics has completed its first loading operation at Germany’s Port of Hamburg, coordinating the transhipment of a batch of rail wagons from a seagoing vessel to rail.

The project forwarder, a subsidiary of German logistics provider Hamburger Hafen und Logistik, worked alongside HHLA subsidiary UNIKAI Lagerei- und Speditionsgesellschaft to move six passenger railway carriages measuring up to 22 meters long and weighing up to 47 tonnes, as well as associated bogies.

The carriages had arrived in Hamburg from China and offloaded by the Wallman Terminal. The cargo was then transferred onto inland waterway vessels and carried to HHLA’s universal cargo terminal, O’Swaldkai, where UNIKAI took over operations.

Following the completion of customs formalities, the wagons were positioned on the terminal’s own rail tracks, where they were readied for onward transport by train to their final destination in the Czech Republic.

“With the support of our partners within the HHLA Group and other reliable specialists, we were able to complete this job quickly and smoothly,” said Korneli Korchilava, managing director of HHLA Project Logistics. “I am particularly pleased that with this project we have been able to promote the transfer of traffic to rail and thus contribute to our company’s climate protection goals. It is opportunities like this that make the Port of Hamburg such a special location.”

HHLA Project Logistics typically specializes in project cargo and heavy-lift transport solutions in the Caucasus and Central Asian regions. It is headquartered in the Georgian seaport of Poti, with additional branches in Tbilisi in Georgia, Baku in Azerbaijan and Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan.


HHLA Project Logistics and the Port of Hamburg are exhibitors at Breakbulk events. The next event in the calendar is Breakbulk Middle East 2025 on 10-11 Feb at the Dubai World Trade Center.

PHOTO CREDIT: HHLA/Vincent Wolff