LLC Vostochnaya Stevedoring Company (a part of the Global Ports group) says it has launched the first permanent direct circular line service of a Chinese operator along Primorye 1, the international transport corridor serving cargo flow from Northern China to Asia Pacific. The Land Sea Channel line service will become an important link for delivering cargo from the north and north eastern provinces of China to ports in the south of China and other Asia Pacific countries. VSC has launched the line in partnership with HeiLongJiang Sea Land Channel International Logistics Co., Ltd.
The first vessel on the route, Italian Express, which has a capacity of 1,082 TEUs, arrived at VSC’s berths on 11 April 2017 to take on 250 TEUs of sawn timber, agricultural products and other cargo. It is envisaged, according to the current schedule, that Land Sea Channel’s vessels will call at VSC every 10 days.
The container batch for the first vessel was produced in Suifenhe by Port MayAgent and loaded onto PAO Transcontainer’s rolling stock before the same container train was then shipped to VSC, where the cargo remained in the customs transit area before being loaded onto a Land Sea Channel vessel to be shipped by sea. In the future, the new line is also expected to carry import, export and other types of cargo, in addition to cargo shipped via Primoriye 1.
The Land Sea Channel line, the only direct line in Russia’s Far East owned by a Chinese operator, will have a permanent service from Taicang port to VSC and back, significantly shortening the average delivery time. Previously, cargo originating from the northern and north eastern provinces of China was carried along Primoriye 1 ITC by the vessels of other lines, which called at all ports on the way which lengthened delivery time.
According to VSC’s managing director, Alexander Dudko, VSC is currently the only terminal operating in Primoriye 1 to offer its customers both a circular logistics route and a full range of services to deliver containers from the northern territories to southern ports of China and Asia Pacific countries and back.
Alexander Dudko said: “A regular railway route was set up by VSC in July 2016. Now VSC provides a full range of services along the entire corridor: delivery by rail to and from the border crossing point, handling services at VSC’s terminal, and delivery by sea to and from China. This offering will enable us to substantially decrease the cost and delivery time of containers for our clients. Through VSC, we can now offer our customers a validated and convenient logistics chain, which has been thoroughly vetted by our Chinese partners to deliver containers end to end along the important Primoriye 1 international transport corridor.”