Danish shipping giant Maersk intends to alter the name of German carrier Hamburg Süd and several other prominent subsidiaries which for years have operated under their own brands.

Friday afternoon, Maersk has informed customers of the plan to terminate the Hamburg Süd name as part of a wide-ranging rebranding of a number of group affiliates.

”Our intention to go to market as one brand and create one enterprise organization will enable us to serve our customers in a for them simpler and easier way,” says CCO Karsten Kildahl to ShippingWatch.

”Our current brand structure does not reflect the way our customers have their supply chain structured, and we are convinced that this unified approach will enable far better service offerings to our customers, irrespective of what brand they use today,” reads a written reply.

Hamburg Süd goes all the way back to 1871 and was owned by the well-known Oetker family from 1955 to 2017. It’s thus one of the oldest industry brands that faces termination.

Maersk acquired the German carrier in a major transaction in 2017 where a wave of consolidation swept through the container industry.

The rebranding of Hamburg Süd will be made gradually, and significant decision power will still be assigned to the Hamburg management.

It remains unclear whether the Hamburg carrier’s characteristic red-colored ships will be changed to the light-blue color adopted by Maersk, ShippingWatch learns.

To begin with, it’s about providing a uniform access for customers, meaning websites and products will be streamlined.

The rebranding of Hamburg Süd is the first step in a larger reorganization. Companies Alianza, Sealand and Twill face rebranding as well, just as a string of recently acquired logistics companies will come to operate under the Maersk name.

These companies are LF Logistics, Performance Team, Martin Bencher, Senator, KGH Customs Services, Vandegrift and Pilot Freight Services.

Crucial port business APM Terminals and subsidiaries Maersk Container Industry, Maersk Supply Service, Maersk Training, Maersk Line Limited and Svitzer will carry on as usual as they use a different business model.