baltic states/central asia/eastern europe special · 2014. 4. 9. · papazov is planning to...

15 ·16 | 11 April 2014English edition

BALTIC STATES

CENTRAL ASIA

EASTERN EUROPE

Baltic States / CentralAsia / Eastern EuropeSpecial

Far-reaching effectsCrimean crisis adds pressureon Polish road hauliers 6

Do your homeworkThe devil is in the detailfor exports to Russia 10

Join a networkMoldovan Danube portas a regional hub 25

3International Transport Journal 15-16 2014 Baltic States / Central Asia / Eastern Europe Special

This Special is a part ofITJ 15-16 / 2014

A new structure for BDŽ 13

Bulgaria’s state railway continues to operate, de-spite blocked accounts. Transport minister DanailPapazov is planning to restructure the corporationrather than privatise it, as done by many an otherEastern European neighbour.

Riga banking on boxes 18

The Latvian port of Riga felt the ripples emanat-ing from the unstable political situation in theMiddle East and registered lower forest productthroughput in 2013. It hopes to generate growthin the container segment.

Turkmenistan to take off 21

The aviation industry in the Central Asian coun-try Turkmenistan is undertaking something of are-launch. Turkmenistan Airlines recently tookdelivery of its first Boeing B777, and inaugurateda new terminal in the capital Ashgabat.

Cover: St Petersburg’s cathedral of the resurrection of Christ. Photo: Thinkstock

ITJInternational

Transport

Journal

Specials

Baltic States / Central

Asia / Eastern Europe

Supplement

Malta41

Irland / UK51

Ice ageHarsh Canadian winter leads

to supply bottlenecks 20

Stormy weather

World’s busiest air hub

to handle less freight 25

A spring in its step

Maltese forwarder

finds fresh niches 43

15 · 16 | 11 April 2014

www.transportjournal.com

ENGLISH EDITION

(also available in an identical

German and French version)

5 Editorial

6 Polish road hauliers sufferingRipples spread from the Crimean crisis

7 Moscow implements restrictionsNo Carnet TIR at the Finnish border

8 Public tender at the Baltic Sea port of GdanskPrivatisation proceeding apace

9 Gebrüder Weiss investingNew national head office in Bulgaria

10 Mortrans advises businesses on RussiaExports without customs problems

16 Global Ports benefitsNCC takeover with positive effects

17 ŽS clears the way forwardModern railway infrastructure in Serbia

19 Port of Ventspils expandingForest products point way to future

20 MAN Truck & Bus is pleasedJoint Venture with Uzavtosanoat

20 Turkmenistan organising itselfNew barcode system

20 Kyrgyzstan moves closerNew air links to Russia

23 In conversation with Swiss WorldCargoThe east is attractive

24 Ruscon keeps on rollingFlexitanks for Kazakhstan

25 Giurgiulesti positioning itself wellSpecial trimodal handling

26 Russia banking on its own portsStrategic orientation of port policies

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ESTONIA – YOUR LOGI(STI)CAL CHOICEAs a strategic gateway, Estonia is located only24 hours by rail or by road from 50 millionconsumers and just 48 hours from 300 millionconsumers, able to service both import andexport flows from Northern Europe, Russia,CIS countries and Central Asia. The Estonianlogistics sector has enjoyed very rapid de-velopment during the past decades and hasseen substantial investments made into the in-frastructure. The advantages of Estonia makeit the most logical choice for a logistics corridorin the region.

The ports have free economic zone areaswhich are exempt from customs duties andhave several other privileges as well, makingthem ideal for setting up distribution centres forany goods that are subject to special tax andexcise duty regulation. There is land availab-le for development near all the ports and portterminals have enough available capacity toimmediately take on new freight flows.

Port of Tallinn’s Muuga harbour boasts adepth of 17 meters and is therefore capable ofreceiving any Post-Panamax vessel that is ableto navigate through the Danish Straits, thusbeing the deepest port in the entire Baltic Searegion. The majority of ports in Estonia are easi-ly navigable without icebreaker assistance andthe vessels do not require any convoy servicesfor entering the ports.

Sillamäe Port is a rapidly developing port lo-cated merely 25 kilometres from the Russianborder, making it the closest port to Russia inthe European Union. Being the newest port inthe Gulf of Finland, the port prides itself in pro-viding modern and innovative solutions for thestreamlined movement of cargo between theEuropean Union, Russia and CIS countries. AllEstonian ports have very transparent pricingprinciples, offering an unparalleled quality ofservice in the region.

The ports alone could not be the foundationof Estonia’s success story as a logistics hub.Given the vast distances in the Russian hin-terland and extending this further into CIS andCentral Asian countries, the railways are vie-wed as the ideal transport mode for haulingbulk cargo and containers over great distan-

ces. Estonian Railways operates on the 1520mm Russian-gauge railway network, linking itwith destinations as far away as Kazakhstan.Rail cars are hauled by EVR Cargo to andfrom Russia and CIS and Central Asian coun-tries in block trains or shuttles, requiring lessformalities and thus ensuring faster deliverytimes.

EVR Cargo is the market leader in Estonia inrail freight and has played a pivotal role in es-tablishing Estonia as a dynamic player in thecontainer segment, owing much of the growthin this sector to excellent cooperation withTransiidikeskuse AS (TK), which owns andoperates the only container terminal in Esto-nia. Container traffic with block trains has beenincreasing at a very rapid pace during the lastfive years and customers have started to fullyappreciate the benefits it provides. TK are run-ning daily block container trains to the Moscowregion together with EVR Cargo, which opera-tes its own fleet of 70 locomotives and nearly3000 rail cars, which are available for lease tocustomers.

Alekon is an established distribution centreoperator providing a full range of services in lo-gistics, ranging from warehouse management,labelling, sorting and distribution to forwar-ding, expediting and transportation - many ofAlekon’s projects involve acting as a regionaldistribution centre for the northwest region ofRussia, fully utilising the flexibility and proximitythat Estonia can offer.

CF&S is a logistics group established in Es-tonia in 1997, with offices in Estonia, Latvia,Lithuania, Russia and Kazakhstan. The objec-tive of CF&S is to provide services in the en-tire logistics spectre, ranging from container,road, railway, sea and air transport services,warehousing and distribution to chartering andship agency services.

Estonia is a transparent, innovative and vibrantcountry that ranks very high in the top destina-tions for doing business globally. The absenceof corporate income taxation and significantlyreduced bureaucracy make Estonia the idealhub for serving the Northern European or Rus-sian and Central Asian marketplaces.

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Dear readers,Russia cannot seem to get out of the headlines these days.

The full medium-term international and economic repercus-

sions for the region of the fact that the country has taken de

facto control of the Crimean peninsula cannot be assessed

yet (see page 6). In other news, the Russian customs authori-

ties stopped accepting TIR Carnets on parts of the nation’s

northwestern border with Finland at the end of March. This

particular measure, in a region just 200 km from St Peters-

burg, affects around 7,000 lorries a day that want to cross

the border there.

One thing is certain, however. In the light of the Russian

rouble’s current crisis, foreign investment in the country is

more important than ever before. Russia seems determined

to defend its position, however, as was apparent at the SITL

trade fair in Paris this month, where Russian transport mini-

stry staff in marine uniform manned one stand.

China can consider itself to be one of the winners of the

crisis afflicting relations between the West and Russia. But

other countries, such as Italy, are also benefiting. It has been

steadily increasing its trade with Russia (+18% last year).

Non-EU member state Switzerland has also found a way to

deal with Russia’s «samobytnost» (unique character). With

2014 marking the 200th anniversary of Russo-Swiss dip-

lomatic relations, the Swiss government has not joined EU

and US sanctions against Russia. The country has

rather underlined its role as a builder of bridges

between the parties. Switzerland, the chair of

the OSCE in 2014, has coordinated its

actions with partner Serbia,

which will take the chair in

2015. Let’s hope that this

will help create a solu-

tion to the problems.

Christian DoepgenEditor-in-chief

JURTRANSATaikos 104, LT-93149Klaipeda, Lithuania

+ 370 46 363021 ph+ 370 46 363012 fax

[email protected]

No better transportoption than Jurtransa!

6 Baltic States / Eastern Europe / Central Asia Special International Transport Journal 15-16 2014

Barely a month after the start of theCrimean crisis, Polish transport opera-tors are feeling its effects. They have notyet suffered a dramatic collapse, but arefeeling the first losses. Jan Buczek, thehead of the ZMPD, Poland’s associationof international road hauliers, comment-ed sceptically that «the situation there

isn’t only making life complicated forthe Ukrainians, but it’s also adverselyaffecting all business connected withthe country.» Buczek knows what he istalking about, as «roughly 200 less trucksa day are crossing the frontier betweenPoland and Ukraine,» as he asserts.His industry is facing a fall of at least

EUR 10 million per day in the volume oftrade. According to Buczek the numberof vehicles normally hovers around 900a day. «This doesn’t, of course, amountto a fundamental collapse in trade,» theofficial explained, assuring the industrythat «the unloading of goods is still pro-ceeding smoothly in the country.»

The background to these develop-ments is that Poland’s frontier with itseastern neighbour is 535 km long, sothat it is automatically strongly affectedby political conflicts that break out there.Poland exports a substantial amount ofgoods to its neighbour, predominantlyby road. Ukraine comes eighth amongstPoland’s export destinations.

Last year the value of goods handled inPoland’s foreign trade increased by 1.4%to approximately USD 8 billion. Exportsgrew particularly dynamically, rising by8.5% to USD 5.7 billion. Now, however,this trade is likely to experience a massivesetback.

Truckers avoiding Crimean Peninsula«Our truck operators are already avoid-ing the Crimean Peninsula – in thesame way as they are circumnavigatingsouthern Ukraine,» the ZMPD officialstated, making it clear how fast thingsare developing. «Our hauliers no longeraccept any orders to or from the region,»Buczek added.

The head of the ZMPD said that heis in constant contact with his oppositenumber in the Ukrainian road haulageassociation, in order to better assess thesituation. «One positive aspect, of course,is the fact that the international TIR cus-toms-free transit convention applies inUkraine,» he elaborated.

Other Polish exporters are in a similarsituation. According to a survey conduct-ed by the Polish ministry of economicaffairs, they are not yet feeling any seriousadverse effects from the conflict. Theyare very cautious with regard to its fur-ther developments, however. They expect

Trade between Ukraine and Poland

Pressure from Crimean crisisUkraine is a particularly important market for Polish HGV operators, who have already lost millions of euros as a result of the Crimean

crisis. The government in Warsaw fears that the national economy will see fall in the trade volumes of up to 40%. The Ukrainian rail-

ways have been largely unaffected so far, but the state-owned undertaking is nevertheless heading for a difficult time.

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7International Transport Journal 15-16 2014 Baltic States / Eastern Europe / Central Asia Special

a substantial fall in the volume of tradeas a result of a further depreciation ofthe hryvnia, Ukraine’s national currency.Since the beginning of this year it haslost roughly a fifth of its value in termsof the US dollar. Polish entrepreneursexpect their customers to fall massivelybehind with their payments. Accordingto estimates by the Polish government,exports will fall by 30–40% in relationto last year.

Delayed effect on railwaysWhilst some foreign firms are underpressure, the operation of a number ofkey sectors in Ukraine is still unaffectedby the crisis. The Ukrainian railways

Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) have stated that inthe first two months of the year theytransported nearly 6.6 million t of transitfreight. This corresponds to an increaseof 3.9% over the same period of last year.Overall, the volume of goods carried byrail has fallen only very slightly, by 0.7%to 53.5 million t.

The management board of the rail-ways intends to stick to its infrastructuremodernisation plans. These envisage therenewal of 322 km of track. Ukraine’srail network covers approximately21,600 km in total. It is probably only amatter of time before the crisis hits UZtoo and it handles less freight.

Sebastian Becker

Transferring trains in Chop / Zahony on the border between Ukraine and Hungary.

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TIR restrictions on theFinno-Russian borderTIR Carnets have no longer been accept-ed on parts of the Russian Federation’snorthwestern Finno-Russian border since20 March 2014, according to the Geneva-based International Road Union (IRU).The Torfyanovka customs office at thestrongly-frequented border crossing be-tween Finland and Russia, located about200 km from St Petersburg, has beenmost affected. The customs authoritiesin Vyborg, Karelia and Murmansk havecontinued to handle traffic normally.The IRU called the unilateral measurean illegal decision in direct violation ofthe TIR convention. For months now thegovernment in Moscow has successivelyintroduced ever more restrictions on theconditions for making use of simplifiedcustoms procedures. Court pressure hasresulted in it withdrawing measures intro-duced as a result of the current policy,but later re-introducing them, even in theface of criticism from the Russian tradeassociations concerned.

Officially Russia is planning to in-troduce an alternative goods declarationsystem at its borders. This plan remindsobservers of a recently-published inten-tion to establish a national credit cardcompany. European transport firms haverejected the new Russian model, however.High-level talks between the IRU andRussian ministries may now lead to aresolution of the expensive impasse. ah

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Gdansk not only looks back on a historyspanning 1,000 years, but Poland’s largestport has also been earmarked as a key hubin the Baltic–Adriatic TEN-T corridor bythe European Union. The facility hit arecord level of 30.3 million t of freighthandled in 2013. Gdansk ranks seventhamongst the ports located on the shoresof the Baltic Sea, and second when calcu-lated by container volumes handled.

Another stimulus to the further devel-opment of the port is set to come fromthe sale of shares in the port authority’ssubsidiary Port of Gdansk Cargo Logis-tics (PGCL). The latter is a freight handlerthat provides cargo processing and ware-housing services for goods, regardless of

the carrier which delivered the goods tothe port. The company specialises in han-dling breakbulk cargo, which includesboth containerised wares as well as bulkcargo. PGCL leases areas covering a totalof about 90 ha.

The sale involves nearly 100% ofshares in the company. The overwhelm-ing majority, that is to say 99.91%, isheld by the Gdansk port authority itself(with the remaining 0.09% subject to acompulsory buyout). This invitation totender represents one of the most inter-esting current investment opportunitiesin Central or Eastern Europe. Gdansk isnot only Poland’s largest port in termsof volumes handled, but also shipped

freight with a total value of EUR 40 bil-lion via its terminals and quays in 2013.That corresponds to a substantial part ofall trade handled to and from Poland, thesixth-largest economy in Europe.

Details on the overall procedure as wellas on the bidding process can be accessedat the port authority’s website, namelyunder www.portgdansk.pl/privatization.The deadline for bids is scheduled for12 May. Christian Doepgen

Investors can apply for stakes in PGCL on the Baltic Sea

Privatisation in GdanskThe port of Gdansk, Poland’s largest hub on the Baltic Sea, is driving its privatisation for-

ward. Investors interested in taking a stake in the biggest freight handling operator PGCL

(Port of Gdansk Cargo Logistics / Port Gdanski Eksploatacja), an enterprise incorporated

under Polish law, can submit their bids by mid-May.

The port is planning a privatisation measure.

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The international transport and logisticsfirm Gebrüder Weiss (GW) recently helda ground-breaking ceremony for its newoffice in the Bulgarian town of Elin Pelin,close to the country’s capital Sofia. Thenew building will act as a distributionfacility for both the Balkan states as wellas Central Asia. Completion is scheduledfor the end of 2014.

Over the coming months a modernlogistics centre with 6,000 sqm of logis-tics halls, 1,880 sqm of transhipment ar-eas and 1,300 sqm of offices will be builton a 57,000 sqm plot. Thomas Moser,GW’s regional manager for SoutheasternEurope and the CIS, described the newfacility as being in «an ideal geographiclocation, with excellent transport links,»adding that «it should therefore surely beable to help drive the firm’s growth.» It

will also provide a link to GW’s recently-opened facilities in Georgia and Turkey(see ITJ 7-8/2014, pages 14–15), and canalso be expanded if necessary.

The workforce will increase by 30 peo-ple to about 90 employees by the time thebuilding is completed. The company’sinvestment in the new hub amounts to

EUR 8 million. «The distribution centrewill offer the entire range of our services,including overland transport, air and seafreight and logistics solutions,» addedMarieta Grigorova, GW’s national mana-ger in Bulgaria.

Austrian logistics firm’s ground-breaking ceremony for new regional office

Construction starts in BulgariaA modern distribution facility in Elin Pelin will replace Gebrüder Weiss’s office in Sofia at

the end of 2014. EUR 8 million is being invested in the new site.

Marieta Grigorova (centre) at the ceremony.

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Gebrüder Weiss board chairman Wolfgang Niessner, commenting on the results of the latest finan-cial year, told the media that «we’re extremely satisfied with 2013, given the rather disappointingfirst half of the year.» GW generated a turnover of EUR 1.2 billion in the period under review. Thanksto the economic upturn in the second half of the year, the group achieved its 2013 targets, consoli-dating a positive trend with a 3.3% increase in turnover. As in previous years, GW again investedheavily in the expansion of its Central and Eastern European network in 2013. Two new sites becameoperational in Czechia, namely in Jenec near Prague and in Jablonec nad Nisou (the apple orchardon the river Nisa, northern Bohemia). Two halls were also added to the Senec logistics terminal inSlovakia. A new office was opened in Györ in 2013, completing GW’s Hungarian network. ah

Gebrüder Weiss increases turnover


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Exporting goods to Russia can representquite a challenge from the point of viewof the logistics involved, not least becausethe vast country stretches across no lessthan nine times zones – from the BalticSea in the west to the Pacific Ocean inthe east.

The bulk of the state’s industrialactivities are centred on the northwesternregion, however, mainly in the Moscowand St Petersburg areas. The country’svast oil, gas and mineral supplies areavailable abundantly in Siberia and othereastern regions, in contrast.

The bulk of imports destined forMoscow and its surrounding region aredischarged in the port of St Petersburg.

According to Geoff Edwards, thedirector of European logistics ac-tivities for the transport enterpriseMortrans, «the so-called Big Port ofSt Petersburg covers many a port area,with the port of Ust-Luga, amongst oth-ers, also part of the regional cluster.»

Harsh wintersHe adds that Ust-Luga, approximately100 km west of St Petersburg, «is a fairlynew port, which is being expanded tohandle all modes of shipping, includinggeneral container consignments as wellas heavylift, coal and oil products.» Theadvantages of the hub, which openedin 2001, are relatively clear. Winters in

St Petersburg are harsh, which means thatits terminals are then ice-bound, with ac-cess only possible by convoy system. Ust-Luga, in contrast, has ice-breaking facili-ties, providing it with year-round access.

The Mortrans director is annoyed thatmyths surrounding the subject of export-ing goods to Russia remain in people’sheads, even if they do not correspond

Customs processing of imports into Russia

Exporters have to do their homework

Quite a few factors have to be borne in mindwhen exporting goods to Russia. Photo: Thinkstock

The export of goods to Russia has a reputation for being complicated and slow.

Geoff Edwards, the logistics director for Europe of the transport provider Mortrans,

explains how problems can be eliminated by advance planning, however.

to reality. There remain problems inrelation to the customs declarations of

import goods. But the processing factsare hardly related to the perceptionthereof, according to Edwards.

Mistakes when filling in formsIf a consignment is not cleared atthe first submission by the Rus-sian customs authorities – as theconsignee expects – then the mis-

take can frequently be found withthe export division of the shipper orhis agent. «We commonly hear the

complaint that wares are not clearedthrough customs without a bribe be-

ing handed over to the customs officersconcerned. This, in my humble opinion,is pure rubbish.» If you were to examinesuch cases in detail, Edwards says, youwould soon see that the mistakes are gen-erally made when filling in the requisiteexport documents.

The information that an exporter orhis agent may supply may have been in-correct, or there may be goods includedin a container that are not listed on thecorresponding manifest.

Edwards does not dispute that Russiancustom officers work very thoroughly,and may occasionally be a bit pedantic.«But that is their job, isn’t it. If they wereless than pedantic, then they would becalled lackadaisical. This so-called bribeis a fine, nothing more and nothing less,levied for the fact that someone in theexport department did not do his jobproperly,» is how he expresses his view.

Incomplete informationEdwards cites a recent incident when amajor British food exporter had someproblems with the customs authoritiesin St Petersburg. The problem was basi-cally very simple. The customs authorityhad to charge a duty on a consignmentof sauces being exported from the UnitedKingdom and imported into Russia.There was a small problem, however. Anindividual price list for each jar being im-ported was not included in the importdocumentation.

The customs authorities thereforewanted to charge an import tariff basedon the information they had. «As you canguess, this tariff was much higher than

anticipated, and exceeded the wholesaleprice of the sauce involved,» Edwardsexplains. «If the exporter had included aprice list in his documentation, then thisproblem would never have arisen.»

Basic and simpleEdwards believes that exporting goods toRussia does not have to be complicated,by any means. Many companies ensurethat containers are stuffed in precise ac-cordance with the manifest, and someeven take photographs of the containerduring the stuffing procedure. Trans-mitting all the details of a consignmentshould be one of exporters’ top priorities.It may sound laborious, but the benefitsdefinitely outweigh the inconvenience.

«The lesson is to always do your home-work before you ship any goods, as thisis invariably easier than solving problemsonce they arise,» says Edwards. And heshould know, as Mortrans has been activein Russia for 22 years. Exporting goods toRussia does not have to represent a chal-lenge for all the parties involved at all – ifthe rules and regulations are heeded inadvance. Antje Veregge


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For years, Bulgaria’s governing partieshave presented the low levels of nationaldebt, when compared with other coun-tries in Europe, as evidence of financialpolicy security, hoping to thereby attractmore foreign investors. It is true that theBalkan country had the second-lowestvalue of all EU countries at the end oflast year, with debts amounting to 17.3%of its gross domestic product (GDP).

More reluctant investors comment on aserious problem in the Bulgarian economythat they say is common – poor paymentpractices between business partners. State-owned companies, such as the Bulgarianstate railway company (Bãlgarski DãržavniŽeleznici, BDŽ Holding) and the NationalElectricity Company (NEK) are strikingexamples thereof.

Now FMS Wertmanagement, a state-owned so-called «bad bank» from Ger-many, has been able to block BDŽ’s bankaccounts, due to outstanding debts ofapproximately EUR 11 million.

Railway and ministry forced to refocusFMS Wertmanagement did not want tocomment officially on the case whenasked. It was, however, possible to learnfrom connected parties that the non-payments relate to BDŽ obligations re-sulting from a bond issued in November2007, with an original nominal value ofEUR 120 million being the reason for theaccounts being blocked.

BDŽ stopped paying its obligation aris-ing from the loan in 2010. The moneyhad been used to finance the purchase ofDesiro diesel locomotives from Siemens.As Bulgarian Railways has not even re-paid half of the payments due, the arrearshave risen continuously.

Both sides’ positionsThe creditors were initially patient, butnow they are demanding that the Bulgar-ian transport ministry meet the paymentobligations, according to a so-called letterof comfort. With this, the ministry hasagreed to support the Bulgarian railwaysin meeting its financial obligations.

Neither the Bulgarian transport minis-try nor BDŽ’s management were preparedto issue a statement on the subject whenasked. BDŽ’s position can be deducedfrom an editorial published by them intheir weekly trade magazine «Schele-snizar» (The Railwayman) dated 20 Feb-ruary. Here the corporation states that inthe past year «intense and difficult nego-tiations were carried out with the creditorbanks to try to bring talks back on track.»

Positions expected to convergeA working group has been established,with representatives from the creditors,from BDŽ Holding, and from the Bul-garian transport and finance ministries.As part of these discussions approacheshave been made to some banks, but there

are still differing views on several topics.Each bank is free to take legal measures,but the expectations are that the diverg-ing positions will converge. The compa-ny’s operational ability will not be ham-pered by its bank accounts being frozen,and there is also no delay in the paymentof salaries in the holding company andits subsidiaries, according to the editorialcontribution.

Transport on paymentAccording to Bulgaria’s transport min-ister Danail Papazov, the debt of theBDŽ Holding currently amounts toaround BGN 624 million (approximatelyEUR 320 million). His socialist-led coa-lition government, unlike the previousgovernment, which left office in spring2013, is not planning to privatise the BDŽfreight subsidiary to reduce the debt ofthe holding company. Rather, ministerPapazov is looking to rehabilitate thecompany financially with the help of re-structuring measures.

BDŽ is not just a debtor, but also a cred-itor. The company recently announcedthat it will stop providing transport for thecontroversial energy entrepreneur HristoKovachki, as he has not paid outstandingdebts of about EUR 15 million.

Kovachki an important BDŽ clientCoal transport from Kovachki’s mines toits many thermal power stations accountsfor around a quarter of the volumestransported by BDŽ’s freight subsidiary.«We’ll pay BDŽ when state-owned NEKhas paid us its debt of BGN 5 million(approximately EUR 2.5 million),» wasthe reaction of the executive board ofKovachki’s company to the announce-ment of the halt to transport services.

Soon after that both sides agreed,however, that BDŽ would continue totransport Kovachki’s coal as long as thelatter continued to make daily payments.If the company fails to do so, then trans-portation will immediately be stopped,Bãlgarski Dãržavni Železnici said.

Bulgarian Railways still running despite its accounts being blocked

Debtors and creditorsThe Bulgarian state railway is currently not pushing to have its subsidiary freight traffic operator privatised, unlike many other

central European freight railways. The corporation operates a unique policy concerning its receivables. ITJ correspondent

Frank Stier analysed this matter in Sofia.

Bulgaria’s state railway company is not set to privatise its railfreight subsidiary, but rather torestructure it. The plans are dependent on the development of the firm’s debts and receivables.

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MOVING FORWARDYOUR BUSINESS!

FACTS ABOUT LDZ CARGO

LDZ Cargo is the biggest railway carrier in the Baltic States.

LDZ Cargo is a subsidiary company of the State Joint StockCompany “Latvijas Dzelzceļš” (Latvian Railway), providing cargotransportation services to and from the Baltic States, CIS andWestern Europe.

LDZ Cargo is a reliable partner in the railway transportationmarket. The company is well-known for its successful projects intransportation of various types of cargoes, including container-ized cargoes. The following container trains run on the regularbasis:

Baltica – Transit, delivering goods from the Baltic seaportsto Central Asia, stable and reliable service has been providedfor more than 10 years;

ZUBR, connects Tallinn, Riga, Minsk, Kiev and the Black Seaports Odessa and Ilyichevsk, providing a strong link betweenthe Baltic and the Black Sea regions. LDZ Cargo Loģistika isthe operator of the train in Latvia.

Riga’s Express, runs between Riga and Moscow, deliveringgoods from Europe to the Central regions of Russia.

LDZ CARGO IN FIGURES

The result of the dedicated work over a number of years isconsistently big cargo volumes transported by the Company –around 60 million tonnes per year.

LDZ Cargo owns more than 6700 freight wagons of differenttypes for transportation of practically all types of cargoes, as wellas the company owns high-capacity containers.

At the disposal of LDZ Cargo there are more than 90 main-lineand 50 shunting locomotives, which enables the company to pro-vide the whole range of services to its clients.

THE MAIN VALUES OF LDZ CARGO AREITS CLIENTS AND PARTNERS

There are more than 3000 LDZ Cargo clients – freight owners,stevedores, and forwarding companies. The key to success is acustom-tailored approach pursued by the company.

LDZ CARGO LOĢISTIKA

LDZ Cargo Loģistika is a subsidiary company of the LDZ Cargo,established in 2008, which provides logistics and forwarding ser-vices and offers:

Intermodal service with the use of different types of trans-port and infrastructure, implementing the “door to door”principle for local and international carriage.

Since 2008 LDZ Cargo Loģistika is the official agent of SJSCTransContainer in Latvia, and from 2013 it is also the official agentof Kazakhstan forwarding company Kedentransservis.

LDZ Cargo Loģistika works in close cooperation with LDZ Cargo,ports, terminals and other transport companies in order to pro-vide its clients the best competitive solutions for cargo carriage.

LDZ CARGO IN ACTION

LDZ Cargo carries different types of cargoes, including danger-ous and over-sized cargoes. The leading positions refer to coal,oil and oil products, as well as mineral fertilizers, metals, chemicalcargoes, timber, grain and others.

LDZ Cargo provides services at 77 stations, including 9 port sta-tions in Riga, Ventspils and Liepaja with well-developed terminalinfrastructure for handling practically all types of cargoes.

FURTHER STEPS TOWARDS COOPERATION

Cooperation with LDZ Cargo is characterised by clients confi-dent of service always provided in due time, precisely, and with astrong sense of responsibility.

16 Baltic States / Central Asia / Eastern Europe Special International Transport Journal 15-16 2014

been announced in summer 2013 (see ITJ 37-38/2013,page 15). Now the Russian market leader has presentedits annual results for the latest fiscal year. The company’smost important segment, box throughput, increased by2.9% for the combined companies, compared to theprior year, bringing total throughput to 2.774 mil-lion teu. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,and amortisation (ebitda) for the container business re-mained virtually unchanged at USD 404.4 million.

The takeover of NCC is likely to pay off for theterminal operator. Considered separately, the facilitiesoperated by Global Ports – excluding the new acqui-sitions mentioned above – reported a total volume of1.629 million teu in 2013, matching the level of theprevious year. Furthermore, earnings for Global Portsalone, not including NCC’s activities, fell by 4.4% toUSD 480 million. The firm ascribed the drop in earn-ings mainly to a decline in its oil segment, but transac-tion costs for the takeover also contributed to the loss.This pulled down the ebitda for the group (excludingNCC) in the fiscal year to USD 256.8 million, a 10.8%drop vis-à-vis the previous year’s level.

NCC terminals see growthIn contrast to Global Ports’ results, NCC’s terminalsrecorded a 7.1% increase in throughput volume to1.145 million teu. The Ust-Luga container terminal(ULCT), about 100 km from St Petersburg, and FirstContainer Terminal (FCT), in the port of St Petersburg,were strong growth drivers. While the ULCT saw its han-dling volume increase more than five-fold, throughputin the FCT increased by 2.5%. NCC’s revenues totalledUSD 256.9 million, for a growth rate of 1.4%.

The company has been listed on the London stockexchange since 2011. The group announced that, in viewof the takeover of NCC and the strong growth of theVSC terminal in the port of Vostochny in eastern Russia,it would invest USD 66 million in 2014, 95% of which isearmarked for its Russian ports segment. By way of com-parison, NCC and Global Ports’ combined investmentoutlays for 2013 amounted to USD 79 million.

After the takeover of NCC, Global Ports now oper-ates nine container terminals on the Baltic Sea coasts ofFinland and Russia, as well as facilities in eastern Russia.Taken together, the terminals have a capacity to handleabout 4 million teu annually. The most important gate-ways for cargo both into and out of Russia are thereforeincluded in the group’s portfolio. Antje Veregge

Global Ports presents its annual report

Poised for growththrough takeoversThe takeover of its rival NCC made 2013 a transformational year

for the Russian terminal operator Global Ports. Its results have

shown the benefits of this acquisition.

At the close of last year the Russian venture Global Ports Investmentput the finishing touches on the complete takeover of its strongestcompetitor at the time, the NCC Group, a move which had already

Global Ports’ VSC terminal in Vostochny is near Nakhodka on thePacific coast, 8 km from the Trans-Siberian Railway.

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will be equipped with a second track (15 km long and electrified), two newstations and five bridges, including one over the river Timis. Serbian presi-dent Nikolic emphasised the international character of the projects andtheir benefits for freight transport, saying that «international transit trafficprovides an additional source of revenue for the railways and simultane-ously increases the country’s attractiveness for foreign investment.» Thefirst section is due to be completed in 2016. Christian Doepgen

Expansion of the Serbian railways

Opening corridorsSerbian Railways, the country’s national rail operator,

has entered into a number of agreements to upgrade its

infrastructure with Russian Railways. The first measures

are now taking shape.

The pan-European transport corridors X and VII passthrough Serbia. The infrastructure of the railway systemthere is inferior to that of Central and Western Europeansystems, however. In January 2013 Serbia concluded an in-tergovernmental agreement with Russia for a large loan ofEUR 580 million, earmarked for infrastructure projects. InMay and June 2013 RZD then entered into an agreementwith Serbian Railways (Železnice Srbije ŽS), which provid-ed for investment in rail transport as part of the same inter-governmental agreement (see ITJ Daily of 31 May 2013).

In early March of this year, this agreement between theSerbian state railway company, which has been knownas Serbian Railways since 2011, and RZD’s subsidiaryRZD International, was expanded and broadened. TheSerbian representative, ŽS director general DragoljubSimonovic, and RZD International CEO Sergei Pavlov,signed an agreement that provides for a first trancheof EUR 65 million to be invested in the rail sector inSerbia. The loan does not cover the full costs, however.Moscow insisted that 15% of the costs must be carriedby Serbia itself.

Corridor X to become uninterruptedThe emphasis is presently on six sections that form partof the European corridor X project, which extends fromZagreb (Croatia) to Belgrade (Serbia), Skopje (Macedonia)and thence to Sofia (Bulgaria). The planned route in Serbiawill cover a total length of 112 km and be made up of sixseparate stretches were the tracks have to be replaced. Theplan also covers the reconstruction of existing tracks andthe construction of a second line on a 44 km route betweenStara Pazova and Novi Sad, as well as the reconstruction ofthe Serbian section of the Belgrade–Bar railway line, whichcovers a length of 200 km. Finally, RZD International willalso provide rolling stock, namely 26 diesel trains that arebeing supplied from Russia.

The modernisation of signalling and communica-tions systems as well as parts of the superstructure is ex-pected to lead to faster rail traffic operations. Maximumpermitted speeds on these routes are expected to go upto 120 km/h upon completion of the project, from thepresent 40 to 60 km/h.

New tracks, stations and bridgesThe ground-breaking ceremony for the first undertak-ing took place on 26 March, in the presence of TomislavNikolic, the president of Serbia, Maxim Sokolov, the Rus-sian transport minister, Vladimir Yakunin, the RZD presi-dent, and Dragoljub Simonovic, the director general of ŽS.In the first phase of the project the Belgrade–Pancevo route

Moscow is supporting improvements in Serbia’s railway network.

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In an international segment such as theshipping industry, events in distant partsof the world can have a direct impacton cargo throughput in other countries.The Latvian port of Riga experienced thisrecently, for example. It handled a totalof 35.5 million t of cargo in 2013, whichrepresents a decrease of 1.6% comparedto 2012.

A slump in the dry bulk freight seg-ment in particular was responsible forthis decline. Riga also recorded a de-crease in forestry product throughput inthe year under review, however. The portattributes this to the unstable politicalsituation in the Middle East, which re-duced demand for sawn timber. A largepaper mill in Norway also discontinued

operations, as did two plants in Swedenand Finland. This had an impact on pulp-wood demand.

The decline in volumes was also partlycaused by the practice of Russian export-ers to increasingly tranship cargo in portsin their own country, such as Ust-Lugaand Primorsk. Since a large percentage ofthis Russian cargo is headed for Europeandestinations, in addition to India andChina, it remains to be seen how Euro-pean Union sanctions against Russia willaffect the situation.

Despitethesedeclinesincargothrough-put, the port remains optimistic about fu-ture developments. The establishment ofa new bulk freight terminal is scheduledfor completion this year, which follows

on from the conclusion of the building ofa fertiliser handling terminal at the endof 2013.

The figures for the box segment alsolook better for the period under review. Ascontainerised goods account for an everincreasing proportion of internationalvolumes, particularly to and from Russiaand the eastern Baltic Sea region (seeITJ 37-38/2013, page 15), this segmentis of strategic importance for Riga. Lastyear its container throughput amountedto 381,099 teu (a 5% rise). av

Latvian Baltic port benefiting from containerisation

Boxes ever more importantLast year the Latvian port of Riga registered a slight decrease in cargo throughput,

particularly in bulk freight and forestry products. It saw an increase in container

throughput, however, thus emphasising the strategic importance of this business.

Riga handled about 380,000 teu in 2013.

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EU states with a gross national per capita income of less than 90%of the EU average. The goal of the fund is to reduce economic andsocial imbalances and provide support for sustainable development.The port authority of the free port of Ventspils stumped up the re-maining EUR 5.3 million for the project. nau / av

New terminal in Latvia

More woodin VentspilsThe port of Ventspils, situated on the Baltic Sea at the

mouth of the Venta river, has expanded its terminal facili-

ties for the transhipment of forest products. The project

received monetary support from a European Union fund.

The Latvian port of Ventspils recently put a new termi-nal for the transhipment of wood and wood productsinto operation. The project was made possible by theconversion of an existing bridge on the Venta river intoa drawbridge, which opened up a large area for expansionof the port facilities.

The new terminal, which is operated by the com-pany SIA Ventsplac, covers an area of 5 ha and has a300 m berth. To accommodate the latter, the Ventawas dredged to a depth of 8 m. In addition, 2,000 mof new and upgraded railroad tracks were also laid.Goods can be loaded directly from railcars onto shipsin the new terminal.

EUR 8.1 million of the total investment ofEUR 13.4 million came in the form of financing fromthe EU’s cohesion fund, which was set up to support

A new terminal for forest products was co-financed by the EU.

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A new Russian port on the PacificRussia’s Summa group has started constructing a newport in the Far Eastern federal district of Russia Thenew transhipment location is being built in Zarubino inTrinity Bay, less than 30 km from the national borders ofNorth Korea and China. Summa is planning to establishfour terminals there, with a total quay length of 3,000 m.The port is slated to have a container terminal with anannual transhipment capacity of up to 1 million teu. Inaddition, the plan calls for a ro-ro terminal which willbe capable of processing approximately 500,000 vehiclesa year. The other two terminals will be used for thetranshipment of breakbulk and bulk freight.

Partnerships for parts of the projectThe investment volume is estimated at USD 1 billion,a sum which includes improvements to hinterland con-nections to the port as well. The financing will comeprimarily from the Summa group’s own resources andfrom commercial loans. Summa will cooperate with RailTrans Auto, a partnership between RZD and the TransGroup, for the construction of the ro-ro terminal. Thecorporation will enter into a partnership with the UnitedGrain Company (OZK), 50% of which is state owned,for the development of the bulk freight terminal. av


Six times more MAN in Uzbekistan

Barcode in TurkmenistanAccording to a decision taken by Turkmenistan’s business as-sociation, a state organisation for barcodes is to be establishedin the Central Asian state. The new entity should develop androll out a system of barcodes for all products manufactured inTurkmenistan. The intention is to thereby simplify goods man-agement, accounting, transport, storage and payments, as wasreported recently in the national media.

All manufacturers from Turkmenistan will have to apply bar-codes to their goods by 2017 at the latest. These barcodes willallow the placing of various data on the product, such as thedate of production, its origin and its price. A barcode has beena fixed part of an article’s description in Europe and NorthAmerica since the 1970s (see also ITJ 21-22/2013, page 102).

Russia-bound flights from BishkekKyrgyzstan Air will soon start two new scheduled flights toRussia. From 29 May the Central Asian airline, which has beenplaced on a European blacklist, will take up a weekly service toMineralnyie Vody, in the southern Caucasus region of Russia.Less than a week later, on 2 June, Kyrgyzstan Air will also start aweekly service to Belgorod, a major city close to Russia’s borderwith Ukraine.

In the meantime the former Air Manas, which has flownas an offshoot of Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines under the PegasusAsia brand for a year, is now aiming to implement its Russiaflights, which have been planned since winter 2012/2013. Thefirst destination will be the city of Chelyabinsk, in the easternfoothills of the southern Ural Mountains. ah

The commercial vehicle manufacturerMAN Truck & Bus is satisfied with theperformance of its joint venture MANAuto Uzbekistan. In an interview withan Uzbek news agency, the company’svice-president Kai Reichert looked backon recent years with these words. «In ourcollaboration effort we have managed to

increase production from an initial 300commercial vehicles to 1,800 so far. Thisis also thanks to the dynamic economicgrowth seen in the country recently.»

In August 2009 the German firmMAN Truck & Bus and the Uzbek state-owned car manufacturer Uzavtosanoatestablished a joint truck-production ven-

ture. Uzavtosanoat holds 51% of sharesand MAN Truck & Bus the remaining49%. Since September 2010 the companyhas been producing trucks at its Samar-kand plant. Vehicles worth USD 30 mil-lion were produced in 2012. The annualcapacity of 6,000 units will be increasedto 10,000 in the medium term.

The Central Asian state of Turkmeni-stan’s flag carrier Turkmenistan Airlinesbecame the first carrier in the Com-munity of Independent States to relyexclusively on Western aircraft, namelyBoeing units, upon its establishment in1992. With seven B717-200s, three B737-300s, four B737-700s, five B737-800s andfour B757-200s it now serves five nationaldestinations from its hub in Ashgabat, aswell as 20 cities internationally. The de-

livery of the first of two ordered B777-200LRs, which is now the most spaciousaircraft in its fleet, on 26 March is set togive the airline a further boost.

«We’re delighted to have our first Tri-ple Seven here, as it constitutes a fantas-tic addition to our fleet,» the firm’s CEOMerdan Ayazov said. «The performanceand range of the aircraft, as well as its eco-nomical properties, will make an impor-tant contribution to expanding our fleet.»

The version of the B777 delivered toTurkmenistan Airlines has an underfloorfreight capacity of 151 cbm – sufficientfor six airfreight pallets, 14 ULDs and17 cbm of bulk goods. In addition to thislong-haul aircraft, which is interestingfor additional cargo business, Turkmeni-stan Airlines also relies on eight IlyushinIL-76TD freighters. Abu Dhabi (UAE)and Brno (Czechia) are two of the car-rier’s all-cargo destinations.

New start in AshgabatIn the meantime, a new terminal has beeninaugurated at Turkmenistan Airlines’home airport in the capital Ashgabat.It is still only a temporary facility, how-ever, until a major new airport which iscurrently under construction comes onstream in two years’ time. It will have aprojected annual airfreight volume of upto 200,000 t.

These developments are being followedwith great interest by foreign airlines. TheGermany flag carrier Lufthansa, for in-stance, has announced that with effectfrom 21 July it will only operate its Cen-tral Asian service, on which Airbus A330sand A340s are deployed from Frankfurtto Ashgabat via Baku (Azerbaijan), withsmaller A321s, which are less interestingfor airfreight. ah

Modernising Turkmenistan’s aviation sector

Undertaking key upgradesThe Central Asian landlocked country of Turkmenistan is upgrading its aviation industry.

The flag carrier Turkmenistan Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing B777 in March, at

the same time as the inauguration of a new terminal in the capital Ashgabat‘s airport.

Turkmenistan’s aviation sector is being upgraded, as witnessed by the delivery of a new Boeing B777.

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The East, with its potential growth mar-kets, is alluring for Swiss WorldCargo.The Ukraine and Russia are particularlypromising markets in the estimation ofSteven Plenk, Swiss WorldCargo’s re-gional manager for airfreight activities inAustria, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine.Since October last year there has been adaily direct connection from Zurich tothe Ukrainian capital city of Kiev. Theairline flies the connection with an Air-bus A320, which can hold up to 2.4 t ofcargo in its belly. Swiss WorldCargo does

not have its own cargo handling person-nel in Kiev. Instead, it relies on its Ukrain-ian GSA, FF Cargo Services Ukraine, tohandle these activities.

Russia and the Ukraine«Our strategy is to gain a stronger foot-hold not only in Ukraine, but also inRussia, because those countries have agreat potential, in our opinion,» Plenksaid during a discussion with the ITJ inVienna. He also pointed out, however,that the markets are fiercely competitive

Swiss WorldCargo in Austria

«We’re not taking anythingaway from each other»Swiss WorldCargo sells cargo space independently in Austria. There is no competition be-

tween parent company Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines. ITJ correspondent

Josef Müller spoke with the airline’s regional manager Steven Plenk about opportunities

in Eastern Europe.

Steven Plenk, Swiss WorldCargo’s freight manager for Austria, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine.

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Transformers straightacross RussiaSchenker Russia, DB Schenker Logistics’national subsidiary which was establishedin 1992, recently transported four trans-formers from the seaport of St Petersburgto the Novosibirsk hydroelectric powerplant for the ABB Group, covering a dis-tance of approximately 4,000 km. Thefreight moved on behalf of the companyRus Hydro came in at a total weight of ap-proximately 280 t, and had to be partiallydismantled for transportation.Schenker said that it had garnered thecontract for the project cargo undertak-ing due to the particularly high level ofservice and short turnaround time stipu-lated. The documents for customs decla-ration were quickly put together by thecompany, whilst the preparations for therail transportation of the heavylift items,each weighing in at about 60 t, were car-ried at the same time. The necessary per-mits for the last section of the route onthe wintery roads were simultaneouslyobtained from the authorities.

Special solution coordinated with rail«The selection of the rolling stock andthe special securing of the load was quitea challenge,» Pavel Zahrov, the head ofproject forwarding at Schenker Russia,emphasised. «The dimensions, weightand supporting surface, as well as theunusually high and shifted balance pointof the transformers, all prevented the useof traditional methods of installing andsecuring the load, even if we had usedspecial waggons. We thus developed aspecial solution in cooperation with theRussian Railways.» The result was thatthe transformers were transported totheir final destination at a hydroelectricpower station in Novosibirsk less than 20days after they had arrived in the port ofSt Petersburg. ah

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and that the price war, particularly in Russia, is enor-mous. FF Cargo Services is the company’s GSA in St Pe-tersburg too, which is a destination the airline servesfrom Zurich with its own aircraft, along with Moscow.In Moscow freight is handled by the company’s ownpersonnel. In Budapest (Hungary) the airline uses itsown freight handlers too. Currently, the Zurich–Buda-pest connection flies three times daily, offering amplebelly capacities. But the airline is also looking beyondHungary. For Plenk Russia and Ukraine will in futurebe the most important Eastern European export marketsfor Swiss companies.

The Austrian airfreight market is a small but sophisti-cated shipping market in which, Plenk opined, «we offerour customers what they need.» His small team, Plenkadded, maintains «trusting and intense contacts» withforwarders purchasing airport-to-airport cargo capaci-ties. In Austria, Swiss WorldCargo offers the full com-plement of its product portfolio. Imports and exportsto and from Austria are roughly in balance. In Austria,transport solutions for high-value goods at reasonableprices are in particularly high demand. The Swiss crossin the firm’s logo represent quality, according to Plenk.«Our customers appreciate the great value that our ser-vices offer.»

Small is beautifulAustria’s Schwechat airport plays a key role in customsclearance for shipments to Austria. Belly cargo is flownfrom Schwechat, and what cannot be loaded under theaircraft’s f loors is hauled out by road feeder services(RFS) from road haulage hubs in Linz, Salzburg andInnsbruck to Zurich. There Swiss concentrates all of itsglobal cargo activities and loads its aircraft bound for120 destinations in 80 countries. Hörsching airport inLinz acts as its central hub for RFS from all over Austria,and this is where shipments to Zurich are consolidatedtoo. Freight from Hungary comes by truck to Vienna,where it is either shipped out by air or – if it is too bulkyor heavy – transported to Zurich on trucks.

Plenk replies promptly when questioned about theinterplay between Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss interms of marketing cargo space. «Each carrier has itsown customers and niches, so we don’t take each other’sbusiness away from each other, nor do we compete witheach other.» Ultimately, the most important thing inthis context is that the airfreight is flown by one of theservice providers in the Lufthansa group. jomue

ABC flies to Leipzig, Malmö and DallasRussia’s AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) added two new destinations inEurope and one in the USA to its network at the start of the summerschedule, and simultaneously also increased the frequency of its con-nection with a further US destination. A new Boeing B747F serviceslinks Moscow Sheremetyevo with Leipzig (Germany) once a week,where ABC’s parent company, the Volga-Dnepr Group, operates a main-tenance centre. «The inclusion of Leipzig emphasises our commitmentto the airport and our recognition of its potential as a key airfreight hubfor Eastern Europe,» said Andrei Andreev, who oversees ABC’s businessdevelopment in Germany and Eastern Europe.

Expansion in the USAThe new, weekly B747F service to the industrial city of Malmö in south-ern Sweden is an addition to existing B737 freighter flights operated byAtran Cargo Airlines, an ABC affiliate that is also part of the Volga-Dnepr Group. Henk-Jan van Keulen, ABC’s development manager forEurope, explained the benefits. «By expanding our network in Scandi-navia, we can offer our customers additional links to Asia and NorthAmerica via Moscow.»

The US market is particularly interesting for the Russian freighteroperator. The start of a new twice-weekly service from Moscow viaAmsterdam (Netherlands) to Dallas Fort Worth TX is one expressionof this orientation. A further service connects Frankfurt with Chicago.The hub in the Midwest became a launch pad for the global presenceof ABC in 2012 (see ITJ 49-52/2011, page 48). Since then, the carrier’sNorth American freight volumes have increased by 4 to 12%. ah

Small freight airlines, major plansMoldova’s Aerotrans Cargo has taken over a Fokker 50Ffrom the Italian firm Miniliner on a wet-lease basis. Thesecond freighter to fly for the company, an ATR 42-300F,will be used on the same basis, while Lithuania’s DOTwill act as its leasing partner. Another carrier from theBaltic states, Latvia’s Alpha Express Airlines, is currentlyconsidering returning to the freight business by reactivat-ing an ATR 42-200F.

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Gulvira Duanakulova, who is in charge of the Rusconteam in Kazakhstan. The company bases its plans onthe expectation that investment in Russia and CentralAsia will increase.

In addition to transport services, Ruscon is also incharge of disposing of the contents of f lexitanks. Thecompany delivers the drilling oil to a toxic waste pro-cessing plant in Zhetibai, approximately 200 km fromBautino, where it is recycled. Antje Veregge

Flexitank containers in intermodal transport

It all dependson the boxThere is plenty of room for the expansion of intermodal transport

between Russia and Kazakhstan. Ruscon, a provider of intermodal

transport services, has started a regular link for flexitank containers.

Ruscon, a Russian service provider for intermodal transport options,has launched a scheduled connection for the transportation of flexitankcontainers between Russia and Kazakhstan.

During the first quarter of this year, 40 containers already arrivedat the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, coming from Italy.This volume is expected to rise progressively over the next two years.Ruscon, a subsidiary of Global Container Services, transports theflexitanks on railcars to a customs-bonded warehouse operated by theentity Kedentransservice in the Mangyshlak Peninsula (Kazakhstan).

The relevant customs duties are paid on the goods there, before theyare on-forwarded by truck to Bautino, approximately 360 km away.Bautino handles goods destined mainly for Kazakhstan’s offshore oilindustry in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. The region is one ofthe most important Kazakh oil drilling locations.

Investment in Russia and Central Asia to drive progressThe first containers transported along this new route contained drillingoil. However, in expanding its new connection for flexitank transports,Ruscon is banking on additional demand beyond this initial shipment.«We believe that there is a huge potential for transports to the Russianinterior and to the Commonwealth of Independent States with thisconcept for the intermodal transportation of liquid or dry bulk freightin containers equipped with either flexitanks or bag liners,» explains

The first flexitanks arrived from Italy in the port of Novorossiyskat the beginning of this year.

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Rocks on the railsThe St Petersburg office of Russian Railways Logistics(RZDL) has delivered 35,000 t of crushed stone for theconstruction of the M11 Narva motorway, which hasserved as a connection between the Russian port of Ust-Luga and the hinterland since the beginning of this year.

The construction material came from the Lafargequarry in the republic of Karelia, the Russian part ofthe eponymous region shared by Russia and Finland.From there, RZDL transported the crushed stone to Ust-Luga, where the necessary infrastructure for the receiptand handling of construction materials is available. Thefacility has the capability to handle up to 20 open wag-ons at a time. The stone is handled at a site especiallydesigned for this purpose, which is accessible 24 hoursa day. RZDL was in charge of coordinating all of theparticipants in the transport operation.

The expansion of the port of Ust-Luga’s entry area isexpected to be completed by the end of this year.


DAS RÄDERWERKDER LOGISTIK

www.ennshafen.at

MIERKAD O N A U H A F E N

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The Danubian inland port of Giurgiulesti is located in Moldova, in the triangle formed by the country’s borders withRomania and Ukraine. The hub has somespecial features which are of great interest to logistics services providers, and ithas made substantial progress since it firstcame on stream in 2005.

Although Giurgiulesti lies approximately 130 km inland from the Black Sea,it is nevertheless a deepsea port that canaccommodate vessels in the Mediterranean class without any difficulty. The portoperator ICS Danube Logistics, which isheadquartered in the Moldovan capital ofChisinau, has been offering a shuttle service for containers between Giurgiulestiand Constantza, on the Romanian BlackSea coast, for two years now, deployinga chartered vessel on the link. 120 teuper trip can be transported to and fromConstantza in 24 hours, and this shuttleservice connects to the sailings of largeshipping lines from the Romanian port.

Sending containers to Constantza viathe Danube and the Black Sea is moreeconomic and more practical than usingthe alternative route via the Danube andRomania’s Cernavoda Canal, for example. On the latter route, all the cargo issubject to Romanian regulations for inland transit, as Thomas Moser, CEO ofICS Danube Logistics, explained in aninterview with the ITJ.

Deepsea shipping on the DanubeLarge shipping companies such as MSC,which is based in Switzerland, or theFrench shipping line CMA CGM, acceptcargo with bills of lading for Giurgiulesti. In these cases, ICS acts as a socalledconnecting carrier. The Israeli shippingcompany Zim and China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) are also planningto add Giurgiulesti to their schedules inthe foreseeable future, therefore bringingeven more valuable freight to the Danubian port.

Hence for ICS, one of the prioritiesin its business strategy for the next few

years is to promote transhipment tradeinvolving deepsea vessels. As Moser illustrates, the company «will launch a shuttle service from our port to the Turkishhubs in Gebze and Ambarli in April thisyear.» The new venture will begin withone sailing per week, with the option ofextending the service as and when risingdemand warrants it.

Regional hubTurkey is set to become an importantmarket for the Moldovan economy – butGiurgiulesti is spreading its wings to regions further afield, too. The port intendsto expand its cargo handling facilities forhinterland rail traffic through Moldova,Ukraine and Poland to the Baltic countries. Moser is optimistic that Giurgiulestiwill benefit from its relatively good starting position. «We can offer comparativelylowcost railway transportation costs forthe journey from our port to Poland andto members of the CIS, for instance.»Giurgiulesti has the additional advantagethat it can provide access routes to bothRussian broadgauge railways and European normalgauge tracks.

The port contains a 120 ha area forwhich ICS has obtained a 99year lease.Port operations cover 50 ha, and Moser

wants to attract international companiesto a new business park, which will coverabout 70 ha. The international customers will have two options. Either they cancontract ICS to build appropriate facilities in the park, or they can carry out theconstruction work themselves. The entirearea will retain the status of a freeportuntil 2030, which means that companiesdo not have to pay valueadded tax andcan also benefit from Moldova’s comparatively low corporate tax rates and labourcosts. Moser believes that these are goodreasons for companies to settle there.

The port offers transhipment facilitiesfor breakbulk, containers, storage androro cargo, and can handle freight delivered by truck, train and ship. Whileabout 7,000 teu were lifted on and off thequays in 2013, the port plans to increasethis amount to around 30,000 teu in thenext few years, and thus achieve a totalthroughput of 1 million t.

Currently, companies such as theAustrian mineral oil group OMV andthe freight forwarder Cargo Partner useGiurgiulesti’s facilities for cargo handlingand distribution services to the hinterland. Consequently, the hub reported atotal throughput of more than 400,000 tlast year. Josef Müller

A Danubian port with potential

A trinational hub in MoldovaThe port of Giurgiulesti in Moldova is continuing to expand and develop its role as a trimodal hub between the high seas and the

hinterland. Meanwhile, liner shipping companies such as MSC or CMA CGM are also setting their sights on the inland port, which

is located on Moldova’s 500 m of Danube banks, where the river Prut flows into the great European river.

The Danubian port of Giurgiulesti’s role as a trimodal transhipment centre is growing.

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Russian exports should be handled

largely in the country’s own ports,

according to the nation’s leaders.

Alexander Davydenko, head of the coun-try’s Rosmorrechflot agency, took stockof Russia’s port and maritime business in2013 recently, and additionally briefedhis audience with the fact that «new han-dling capacities for approximately 30 mil-lion t of goods are set to come on streamin Russia’s ports in 2014,».

According to the manager new portcapacities that can handle 39.5 million twere created last year alone. This includ-ed capacities for crude oil products in theBaltic port of Ust-Luga and in Taman onthe Black Sea, a grain terminal in Rus-sia’s biggest port of Novorossiysk and ahandling complex for oleiferous fruit inthe port of Kaliningrad.

Handling in Russian portsRussia’s ports handled a total of approxi-mately 589 million t in 2013. This trans-lates as growth of 4% over the previous

year. Russian ports’ share in the handlingof Russian exports shipped via ports onthe Baltic Sea, Russian and Ukrainianhubs is increasing by 2% annually andnow amounts to more than 86%, accord-ing to Maxim Sokolov, the Russian Fed-eration’s transport minister. This figurestood at less than half that ten years ago.

The strategic targets of the country’sports policy include replacing the han-dling of exports and imports via the portsof third-party countries. This aim willcontinue to be pursued by implement-ing the expansion and construction ofcapacities. Christine Kulke-Fiedler

Transcontainer presentsits results for 2013The Russian rail container operatorTranscontainer has presented its figuresfor last year. Its total income rose by7.7% compared to the previous year, tocome to RUB 39.2 billion (EUR 802 mil-lion) by 31 December 2013. Operatingearnings before interest, taxes and am-ortisation came in at RUB 10.1 billion(EUR 207 million), meaning that it was3.4% down compared to 2012. Net profitsamounted to approximately RUB 6 bil-lion (EUR 122 million), representing arise of 14.2% in 2013 compared to theprevious year.

Trend offset by efficiency measuresThe company, which says that it operatedmore than 25,000 platform waggons and65 terminals in Russia, Kazakhstan andSlovakia in 2012, made no secret in itspress release about the modest growthand the weak margins seen last year. Thecompany was able to offset the trend withefficiency and cost measures. A one-offeffect, the takeover of a 17% stake inTrainscontainer’s subsidiary Logistic Sys-tem Management by Kazakhstan’s KTZ,contributed to the 2013 results. cd

Russia expanding its handling volumes

Capacities and requirements

Russia is seeking to promote its own ports more.

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