Discussions between the two companies were first disclosed more than two years ago. The joint statement declaring that they have been suspended pro tem was issued last Friday evening. The parties also agreed not to disclose the results of negotiations to date. However, it is known that they concern only the German ports and intermodal operations, not the international holdings of both groups.

Industry observers believe the talks will be on hold for quite some time. There are two fundamental points that explain the difficulties for the parties.

First, there are five actors involved, not two. This is not just about HHLA and Eurogate as companies, but also the city states of Hamburg and Bremen, and Thomas Eckelmann. The push for a merger has come largely from the political side, and the representatives of the cities and the trade unions want more influence over the selection of Management Board. At the same time, Eckelmann wants a more commercial, business approach to the talks. Of course, he talks to his peer at HHLA, Dr Angela Titzrath, on equal terms, but at the same time he is the only party in this whole business with his own money on the table.

On top of this, current circumstances have to be factored in. In Germany, both HHLA and Eurogate are having to deal with the ongoing supply chain problems and port congestion, and strike action as the unions demand better pay. In addition, HHLA is preoccupied with CTO Odessa, the welfare of its Ukrainian staff and finding alternative ways of moving containers in and out of Ukraine.

Looking even beyond this, the outlook for the German economy – and as a result the whole European economy, as Germany is the motor – could be grim. The country is heavily dependent on Russian gas as energy for its industry and for heating. Gazprom recently halved the gas flow through NordStream 1, ostensibly for technical reasons, but many suspect that Moscow wants to give Berlin a taster of what might follow if the federal government continues to support Ukraine. Economics Minister Robert Habeck has warned that any stop in Russian gas flow as winter approaches would trigger an economic crisis on the scale of the 2008 Lehmann Brothers collapse.