Black Sea feeder, short-haul services focus on Port of Novorossiysk

THE Global Container Service Group (GCS) has added new feeder and short-sea links as more services have started calling at the NUTEP terminal in Novorossiysk. GCS and NUTEP are both members of the Delo Group.

Among the latest developments is X-Press Feeders launching the BSX service to Novorossiysk, Odessa and other Black Sea ports by adding a vessel to Evergreen's Black Sea feeder (BSF). Initially, the service was operated by Evergreen with the 1,578-TEU Calisto, on a port rotation of Piraeus, Odessa, Constanza, Varna, returning to Piraeus.

When X-Press teamed up with Evergreen in September it added a second ship, the 1,139-TEU CS Star, and the port rotation was expanded to include: Novorossiysk, Piraeus, Novorossiysk, Odessa, Constanza, Varna, Istanbul and back to Piraeus.

Shortsea company, Admiral Container Lines, is a good NUTEP customer with a regular service that has the following port rotation: Novorossisyk, Odessa, Evyap, Istanbul, Gemlik, Izmir, Alexandria, Ashdod, Haifa, Izmir, Istanbul, Gemlik, Evyap, Novorossisyk, and Odessa.

Admiral is starting a second service, an Istanbul (Marport)/Novorossiysk shuttle, using the 508-TEU Corsa in late October.

NUTEP has taken delivery of a fourth ship-to-shore (STS) gantry crane, which will be commissioned early in November. This Liebherr post-Panamax crane will take NUTEP's capacity up to 400,000 TEU per annum.

Each year NUTEP services linked closely to the citrus season call at the terminal. CMA CGM's Citrus Express, a seasonal service to transport citrus exports from Turkey and Egypt to Russia, is one of its customers.

The Citrus Express is a new fixed-day weekly service that will offer transit times of Mersin to Novorossiysk in five days and Damietta to Novorossiysk in seven days

Beginning November 2, CMA CGM will deploy three 1,100-TEU vessels on the following loop: Port Said, Mersin, Istanbul (Ambarli), Novorossiysk, Gemlik, returning to Port Said.

In mid February, at the end of the citrus export campaign in Turkey and at its beginning in Egypt, one new Egyptian port will be included to call at Damietta, Istanbul, Novorossiysk, Gemlik, Port-Said and back to Damietta.

Stephane Courquin, vice-president CMA CGM Asia Mediterranean Lines said in a company release: "This new service will enable CMA CGM to consolidate its position as a reefer operator in this fast growing market. It underlines an important step of our deployment in this area."

Seago Line also plans to commence a seasonal feeder link. Seago is an independent unit within the AP Moller-Maersk Group and offers its own regional services plus acts as a feeder for Maersk Line.

The service will deploy two 600-TEU ships and the port rotation will be: Ashdod, Mersin, Novorossiysk, and back to Ashdod. In Novorossiysk, Seago vessels will be calling at the NUTEP terminal. The maiden call is scheduled for November 14.