Cotunav (state operator of Tinusia) launches regular container service to the port of Novorossiysk (photo)

On the initiative of Cotunav, state-owned national shipping company of Tunisia, container carrier Mehtap Bayraktar will make regular calls to the port of Novorossiysk, IAA PortNews was informed by C-Shipping Ltd which sells the company’s services in Russia as its agent and is also in charge of port agency and forwarding services of Cotunav in Novorossiysk.

The new container service will have the following rotation: Sfax (Tunisia)-Novorossiysk (Russia)-Istanbul (Turkey)-Sfax. The ship will call to the terminal of Novoroslesexport OJSC in Novorossiysk every 14 days. All types of containers, primarily refrigerated containers, are offered for servicing the ports on the route.

The first call to Novorossiysk is scheduled for 8-9 November 2016. The ship will deliver perishable goods from Tunisia.

The service is the result of the intergovernmental agreement between Tunisia and Russia. It will be the only direct service to link Tunisia and Russia, which is a competitive advantage for perishable cargo logistics. Transit time between Sfax and Novorossiysk is 6 days. Fruit, vegetables and frozen fish from Tunisia will make the bulk of cargo on the service.

“Despite the fall of container flows in Russia and worldwide, and the growing competition in container logistics, the Sfax-Novorossiysk-Istanbul-Sfax service has been launched in the niche allowing for consolidation of cargo flows sensitive for transit time,” said the agency company. 

Cotunav, state-owned national shipping company of Tunisia, operates a fleet of Ro-Ro and Ropax vessels servicing the ports of Tunisia and Southern Europe. The service to Russian and Turkish ports of the Black Sea is the company’s first new product over the recent 30 years. The Mehtap Bayraktar has been chartered by the company specially for this line.