Fully operational as of this week, Maersk's new intermodal freight service links Korea, Japan and China to the Kaliningrad Region in Russia, the Baltic countries, and Poland through the Trans-Siberian route.
Maersk. Credit: Ed / Flickr
Credit: Ed / Flickr. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The new A66 sea-rail-sea service runs west-bound fortnightly departing from the seaport of Vostochniy in Russia Far East at the Pacific to Kaliningrad on the Baltic sea, with robust outlooks for further expansion.
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Transit times of the new regular service are significantly reduced compared to purely ocean services: it can transport goods in less than 20 days from Busan to Kaliningrad and the adjacent locations in the Baltics region, compared to an average of 55-60 days for ocean routes via the Suez Canal.
"Maersk A66 services comes at the perfect time to help ease current logistics woes to move goods shipped from the Far East to Europe. The new offering provides global traders shorter transit times, cost-friendliness, and greener services.
"With tens of thousands of containers moving from Asia to Europe, providing creative solutions that offer better customer experience has been the main driver of our activities," said Zsolt Katona, Eastern Europe Managing Director, A.P. Moller -Maersk
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Sustainable operations and stable schedules for the new AE66 service are ensured through close interaction and support by RU Federal Customs (FTS) and Russian Railways. Port operations are provided by Global Ports, while rail services are handled by TransContainer JSC.
Maersk plans to further increase volume by targeting customer segments dealing with high value and/or lead-time-sensitive cargos, such as automotive, electric, and facilities sectors.
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