The TT Club and GE SeaCo join forces to stimulate intermodal transportation in the CIS and Baltic St

Nowhere in the world is there greater potential for the transportation of containers by rail than in the countries of the former Soviet Union (FSU). Distances are huge, the terrain is often hostile, especially in winter, and there is an established rail network which, whilst in need of upgrading and expansion, performs reasonably satisfactorily. However, the development of intermodalism has been hampered by a lack of suitable containers available to would-be service providers. Now though, GE SeaCo and the TT Club have launched a new joint initiative designed to address this problem, making modern container equipment more available throughout this vast region.

In former times, the railroads of the USSR and neighbouring Eastern European and Central Asian states operated a form of container pooling with interchange agreements that did not provide for close tracking of equipment. Responsibility for damage to equipment too was difficult to apportion. In such an environment, it was not surprising that the major commercial leasing companies were reluctant to become involved and because there appeared to be little improvement in the situation 'post perestroika', they are still largely absent from this market. Consequently, the increasing demand for modern container hardware is going largely unfulfilled.

The lack of a modern container logistics system is however being addressed and now appearing on the scene are several intermodal operators with structures that will allow them to maintain much tighter control of their operations. Recognising this, GE SeaCo and the TT Club have formed an alliance to train and support prospective lessees and, where the operations meet set criteria, GE SeaCo is now offering to lease modern equipment including, where required, state-of-the-art reefer boxes and tank containers.

One of the first intermodal operators to benefit from this new alliance has been the Latvian company Sun Gate. Alan Wilkins of the TT Club explains the background:

"Sun Gate had been introduced to the TT Club by one of our existing members, a major ocean carrier. This company had wanted to subcontract the rail movement of deepsea containers between Riga and Moscow to Sun Gate but wanted to be sure that the Latvian company had adequate liability insurance cover.

"Together with the ocean carrier concerned, we looked at Sun Gate's operations and after making a few recommendations, we were able to quote Sun Gate terms which were acceptable to it."

This operation has proved a success and Sun Gate is now moving boxes on behalf of a number of deepsea carriers. However, the company also wanted to exploit the potential for intermodal movements between Latvia and various parts of the CIS. Alan Wilkins explains:

"Subsequent discussions between ourselves and Sun Gate revealed Sun Gate's ambition to carry cargo between Latvia and distant parts of the CIS rather than just be a carrier of maritime boxes. The stumbling block though was the complete lack of lessors prepared to provide containers for use in this region.

"Recognising that Sun Gate's President, Nikolay Semjonov, and his team had established a sound operation, we approached GE SeaCo, a longtime member of the TT Club, on Nikolay's behalf and asked if they would be prepared to help.

"To put it simply, GE SeaCo said that if we were happy to insure any equipment that they leased to Sun Gate, then they would certainly be prepared to talk terms with Nikolay."

John Keir of GE SeaCo continues the story:

"GE SeaCo was all too well aware of the potential market in the CIS and Baltic States but we were also wary. However, this pilot project with Sun Gate has enabled us to work out a strategy with the TT Club which addresses the major problems.

"At the heart of the scheme is a programme whereby we have set up courses to train the staff of would-be lessees in order to ensure that our equipment, including reefer units, is well-maintained whilst in the care of lessees. Those engineers who complete the training programme are issued with GE SeaCo/TT Club certificates as proof of their competence."