Freight News, Rail, Sea

Ocean-rail service is a fixture, says Maersk

[ September 7, 2020   //   Chris ]

Maersk says it will make permanent its AE19 ocean-rail product from Asia to Europe, launched on a trial basis in August 2019.

The service is based on a short-sea connection between ports in Korea, Japan or China and Nakhodka in the Russian Far East, operated by Maersk’s Sealand Asia arm, followed by rail connection across Russia to St. Petersburg, which takes 11 days. The last leg is another short-sea connection between St. Petersburg and ports in Finland (Helsinki and Rauma), continental Europe, such as Gdansk (Poland), Bremerhaven (Germany), or Scandinavia, operated by Sealand Europe.

Thanks to increased customer interest, it will become a permanent weekly schedule.

In March 2020, the service was also launched in the eastbound direction, connecting North European origins with several destination ports in Asia.

It includes a Maersk bill of lading for refrigerated or dry containers, and offers faster transit times compared to ocean-only products and significant cost advantage compared to air freight. It also avoids congestion at border crossings and offers fast track options for transit in Russia based on Blockchain solutions.

Tags: Maersk