Privacy Policy for Hanse Fährlogistik GmbH
At Hanse Fährlogistik GmbH, we are committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our site and users of our services. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our online platform or use the services we provide, including ferry booking, freight forwarding, port services coordination, customs clearance assistance, multimodal transport solutions, and passenger ferry ticket sales.
Information We Collect
We may collect personal information that you provide to us directly when you use our site or services. This includes information you provide when making a booking, requesting a quote, contacting us, or using our online tools. The types of personal information we may collect include:
- Identification and contact details (such as name, address, email address - although we will not use email for communication regarding this policy's administration, it is collected for service provision, phone number, date of birth, passport or ID details if required for travel or customs)
- Payment information (processed securely by third parties)
- Booking and transaction details (information about the services you book or use, dates of travel or shipment, destinations, details of goods being transported)
- Information about passengers or cargo relevant to the booking or service request
- Communications you send to us
- Technical data when you visit our site, such as IP address, browser type, operating system, referral URLs, and information about your interaction with our site. This is typically collected through cookies and similar technologies.
Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
We process your personal data based on specific legal grounds, as required by law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you, such as completing your ferry booking, arranging freight transport, or providing other logistics services you have requested.
- The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation that applies to us (e.g., customs regulations, safety requirements, accounting obligations).
- The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or those of a third party, provided these do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms (e.g., for managing our business, improving our services, detecting fraud, or ensuring the security of our systems).
- You have given consent to the processing for specific purposes (e.g., sending marketing communications, although we generally rely on other lawful bases for core service provision). You can withdraw your consent at any time.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for various purposes related to providing and improving our services, including:
- To process and manage your bookings, transport, and logistics requests.
- To provide you with the services you have requested.
- To communicate with you about your bookings or services.
- To process payments and handle billing.
- To comply with legal and regulatory requirements (such as customs and border control).
- To improve our site and services and develop new offerings.
- To ensure the security of our site and systems.
- To respond to your inquiries and support requests.
Data Sharing and Disclosure
We may share your personal information with third parties when necessary for the purposes described in this policy. These third parties may include:
- Ferry operators, shipping lines, airlines, and other carriers involved in your transport.
- Port authorities, customs officials, and border control agencies.
- Agents and partners who assist us in providing services (e.g., handling agents at ports, customs brokers).
- Service providers who perform functions on our behalf, such as payment processing, IT services, customer support, and analytics. These providers are contractually bound to protect your data and process it only according to our instructions.
- Professional advisors (e.g., lawyers, accountants) and law enforcement or government authorities when required by law or to protect our rights and interests.
We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
International Data Transfers
In providing our services, it may be necessary to transfer your personal data to countries outside the European Union or European Economic Area (EU/EEA). This may happen if, for instance, your destination or origin is outside the EU/EEA, or if we use service providers located outside the EU/EEA. When such transfers occur, we take steps to ensure that your data is protected to the same standards as within the EU/EEA, for example, by using standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission or relying on other appropriate legal mechanisms.
Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process it, and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, as well as applicable legal requirements.
Data Security
We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures designed to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, please be aware that no security system is impenetrable, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your information transmitted over the internet.
Your Data Protection Rights
Under GDPR and other relevant laws, you have certain rights regarding your personal data. These rights include:
- The right to access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- The right to rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
- The right to erasure (the "right to be forgotten"): You have the right to request that we erase your personal data under certain circumstances.
- The right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain conditions.
- The right to object to processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data where the processing is based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
- The right to data portability: You have the right to receive the personal data you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and to transmit that data to another controller.
- The right to withdraw consent: Where we process your data based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time.
- The right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, particularly in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or where the alleged infringement occurred, if you believe that our processing of your personal data infringes applicable data protection laws.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us in writing at the address provided below. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your data (or to exercise any of your other rights).
Cookies and Similar Technologies
Our site uses cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience, analyse site usage, and for advertising purposes. Cookies are small text files placed on your device. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or via any cookie consent tool provided on our site.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will post any changes on this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy or our data practices, please contact us in writing:
Hanse Fährlogistik GmbH
Zum Fähranleger 5
18147 Rostock
Germany
