More connections for the Middle corridor
The Middle corridor is a hype now, but there is more to it. The Batumi International Container Terminal (Bict), an affiliate of International Container Terminal Services (Ictsi) in the Black Sea region, has received the maiden vessel call of the Chinese Cosco Shipping Lines’ subsidiary, Diamond Line’s TBX1 service. The line operates an Intra-Europe service and connections.
The 1,200-TEU TBX1 feeder service, which started its weekly calls at Bict in late October, directly calls at the Port of Piraeus as China's strategic gateway in the Mediterranean, from where there is onward transport to Batumi and the Caucasus region.
Additional ports of call include Istanbul in Turkey and the ports of Constanta in Romania and Varna in Bulgaria. In conjunction with the new feeder service, Middle Corridor containers to/from block trains can be loaded into this Diamond Line feeder service for further connection with Europe, to/from Constanta port.
“These new services highlight the strategic importance of our port to facilitate both regional and global trade,” Nikoloz Gogoli, Bict’s CEO, was quoted in a press release. (cd)