Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has become a regular freight carrier on the Ukrainian market with three weekly connections between the Port of Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro. MSC replied with three roundtrips for 20-foot and 40-foot dry containers to the international demand for block train services in Ukraine.

The global shipping and logistics company has been serving local customers in the Eastern European country since late 2020. However, it decided to turn to a fixed multimodal service between the Black Sea port and three major Ukrainian hinterland destinations to meet its customers’ extended needs. According to the company, the new service is expected to be very successful and might acquire additional regular block trains during the year.

Experience in the market

MSC is no rookie when it comes to rail freight in Eastern Europe. Since 2007 it has been offering services to and from Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, including two weekly sailings from the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk.

Currently, the company takes the next step based on its long-established enterprises. With a multimodal approach that includes rail and road haulage in the last mile transport, MSC will offer an end-to-end service, also utilising its container depots in the Ukrainian hinterland.

More for Ukraine

Multimodal routes connecting the Black Sea with the rest of Ukraine and other European countries like Poland are becoming a must lately. For instance, the Ukrainian Railway Transport Service Center “Liski” aims to launch a multimodal Turkey-Ukraine-Poland route during Quarter 1 of 2021. The service will connect Turkey with the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk and the rail terminal of Slawkow in Poland. From there, cargo can get distributed to other European destinations.

Such initiatives like MSC’s and Liski’s prove that Ukrainian ports and Ukrainian rail freight have a vital role in European multimodal transportation. Ukraine is a steadily growing market that, since mid-2020, has started flourishing exponentially. These developments are finally reassuring that a larger-scale project like connecting the Black Sea to the Baltic by rail can indeed be successful.

Antwerp Rail School 2021

MSC will be present at the Antwerp Rail School 2021, which is to take place in digital form from 22-26 March next week. Ellen Meuwissen, business support & development manager of intermodality at MSC will talk about the use of rail within the global container shipping company.

The Antwerp Rail School, organised in co-operation with Ricardo Rail and SNCB brings together scientific knowledge and rail practice. Tuesday 23 March is entirely dedicated to rail freight.

Read also:

• Black Sea to Baltic: how far is it from being realised?
• One step closer to multimodal route Turkey-Ukraine-Poland