Just over a year after its launch in August 2019, Maersk makes its AE19 ocean-rail product from Asia to Europe a permanent weekly service.
The first cargo left the Russian Far East on A.P. Moller – Maersk’s AE19 service, a unique combination of a short-sea and intercontinental rail product, which connects several origins in Asia with ports in Northern Europe, in July 2019.
The service is based on a short-sea connection between Asian origin ports in Korea, Japan or China and the port of Nakhodka in the Russian Far East (operated by Sealand Asia – A Maersk Company), followed by an intercontinental rail connection across Russia from Nakhodka to St. Petersburg, which takes 11 days.
The last leg of the product is another short-sea connection between St. Petersburg and ports in Finland (Helsinki and Rauma), continental Europe, such as Gdansk (Poland), Bremerhaven (Germany), or Scandinavia, operated by Sealand Europe.
The rail part is operated by Russia’s Modul, and the terminal services are rendered by Global Ports companies.
According to Zsolt Katona, Managing Director, Eastern Europe at Maersk, making AE19 weekly has been possible thanks to increased interest from customers, who appreciate its attractive transit times and cost competitiveness.
In March 2020, the service was also launched in the eastbound direction, connecting North European origins with several destination ports in Asia.