Maersk has announced that it is expanding its cold chain options for fresh fruit from the Black Sea and the Mediterranean to Central Russia. The service combines both existing short sea as well as deep-sea connections from Turkey, Egypt and Israel to the port of Novorossiysk with the regular intermodal service between Novorossiysk and Moscow.
On December 21, 2020, the first refrigerated containers heading from Mersin, Turkey, were dispatched from the port of Novorossiysk en-route to terminal Selyatino in Moscow on a train operated by Ruscon (part of Delo Group) – one of Russia´s leading container transportation companies. Two days later, the containers arrived at Selyatino terminal in Moscow and were safely delivered to the end-consignees.
The new intermodal cold chain solution is enabled by Russian Railways JSC who provides rail infrastructure and commercial support for this new cold chain corridor. Reefer specialists Polar Star LTD provides the power supply for containers throughout the rail journey.
Maersk’s new logistics solution is designed to grow the Russian food market through improved supply chain performance and less handling of perishable fruit.
“We see steadily growing demand from our customers for fruits and vegetables throughout the year. So, we endeavour to provide the best possible quality of fresh items in our shops across Russia. Launch a direct rail product for delivery from port of Novorossiysk to Moscow will substantially enhance availability and freshness of imported fruit on our shelves, especially when offer from local suppliers are limited by seasonal factors,” said Yulia Krymova, Director of Fruit & Vegetable department of Magnet retail chain.
Source: Maersk
