PROJECTS: DP World and Fesco to study prospects for new container berth in Vladivostok

Dubai-headquatered global port operator DP World said on Sunday that it will carry out a joint technical and economic feasibility study with FESCO, Russia's largest intermodal transport operator, for a new container berth in the far east of Russia.

 

DP World said in a press statement that the new berth will help to expand Vladivostok Commercial Seaport as a major transshipment hub connecting cargo from countries in East Asia to North-West Europe via the Northern Sea Route.

 

The announcement follows an earlier agreement between DP World and Rosatom to explore sustainable development of the route.

 

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World said: "DP World supports President Vladimir Putin's vision for the Northern Sea Route, which is one of the last great trading routes in the world to be developed. Opening up an alternative route to the Suez Canal between East and West will increase the resilience of world trade. It has great potential to develop economic activity and prosperity in Russia's far north."

 

A record 33 million tonnes of cargo was carried along the route in 2020, the statement noted, adding thatr President Vladimir Putin has set a target of 80 million tonnes by 2024.

 

Andrey Severilov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of FESCO said the company is "delighted to be working closely" with DP World, which handles "roughly 10 percent of the global container traffic."

 

The statement said cargo would be brought to Vladivostok by feedering ships and rail from countries in East Asia and loaded onto Arctic-class container ships. Murmansk will be further developed as a transshipment hub in the west to connect cargo to ports in North-Western Europe.

 

The project, the statement said, cuts some 4,000 nautical miles from voyages between East Asia and North-Western Europe, cutting shipping time by around two weeks and reducing CO2 emissions.

 

(Writing by SA Kader; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

 

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