vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #152 / Opinion / Reading article...

We were somehow disappointed to read the article "Japan still hesitant about krai" (Issue 150, Sept. 18)¹ as it does not disclose the actual situation and recent reforms on the Trans-Siberian Transport.

I am the general Director of Vostochny International Container Services (VICS), a closed joint-stock company formed by the open joint stock company Vostochny Port, Sea-Land Service, Inc., and P&O Ports.

VICS is more than a container terminal is a stevedoring business.

In mid-September, a promotional trip in Tokyo was organized on the issue of Trans-Siberian Land Bridge services and possibilities in the Nakhodka Economic Free Zone. The major topics were the reforms of transit cargo on the Trans-Siberian Railway which were discussed in detail. It is important to note that the reforms for tariffs, transportation time, security, and customs clearance are carried out and already effectively working. For example, the rate from Korea/Japan to Luzhaika on the Russian-Finnish border is approximately $1,100, and the time from Korea/Japan to Luzhaika/Brest via Vostochny is approximately 15-17 days, that is an improvement of 10 days from the previous transit time.

These reforms allow the Russian customers and shippers to clear transit containers much faster and more efficiently. Today we can proudly say that no longer than a day after transit cargo is discharged from a vessel, it is already loaded on wagons and railed to the final destination.

I would like to conclude by saying that the increase of transit cargo is evident, and according to the information from our major overseas clients, the most impressive fact is that for the first time in the history of the Trans-Siberian Land Bridge, all service participants were united and given the necessary stability and guarantees required for service improvement and efficiency on the TSLB.

Rado Antolovic
General Director
Vostochny International Container Services
Nakhodka

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¹"Japan still hesitant about krai", Sept. 18: http://vn.vladnews.ru/issue150/Business/Japan_still_hesitant_about_krai