Maersk starts intermodal Far East – Europe service

Maersk will launch AE66, a new intermodal service that will connect Korea, Japan and China to the Kaliningrad Region in Russia, the Baltic countries, and Poland through Transsiberian.

Fully operational as from this week, the new sea-rail-sea service runs westbound fortnightly, departing from the seaport of Vostochniy in Russia Far East, at the Pacific to Kaliningrad on the Baltic sea, with outlooks for further expansion.

The new offering provides global traders with shorter transit times and greener services among others. Transit time from Busan to Kaliningrad and the adjacent locations in the Baltics region is estimated to be less than 20 days, compared to an average of 55-60 days for Ocean routes via the Suez Canal.

In addition, sustainable operations and stable schedules are ensured through support by RU Federal Customs (FTS) and Russian Railways, while port operations are provided by Global Ports, and rail services are handled by TransContainer JSC.

“With tens of thousands of containers moving from Asia – Europe, providing creative solutions that offer better customer experience is the main driver of our activity,” noted Zsolt Katona, Eastern Europe managing director, AP Moller – Maersk.

“The key task of diversifying our supply chain and eliminating risks of delay caused by Covid-19, is also perfectly solved by AE66 by enabling us to source Terephthalic Acid (TPA) from multiple locations in Asia,” added Viktor Chumachenko, director of logistics at GK Ekopet Intermodal Freight Services.

Maersk plans to further increase volume by targeting customer segments dealing with “highvalue and lead-time-sensitive cargos”, such as automotive, electric, and facilities sectors.