Advance offers out-of-gauge containers

Advance offers out-of-gauge containers Istanbul, Turkey-based freight forwarder Advance International Transport is over the next 12 months taking delivery of 2,400 new 40-foot open-top and flat-rack containers for over-dimensional and out-of-gauge cargoes.
   The first 200 units of the order, which are being leased from Triton Container International Ltd., are available from various container manufacturers in China, and Advance is asking other companies if they are interested in using the equipment.
   “There is a tremendous shortage of special container equipment in China for oversized cargo,” said Jawad Kamel, Advance’s president and chief executive officer. “Rather than reposition these leased units empty to various container storage depots around the world, we are keen to hear from other forwarders, shipping lines and NVOCCs (non-vessel-operating common carriers), which may require these units. We would rather give other operators the opportunity to use this equipment at rates and conditions to be agreed before delivery, on a case-by-case basis.
   “Using these containers, shippers will also be able to move their shipments out of China by rail via Kazakhstan to the CIS, Russia and Europe provided the oversized cargo is within the railway gauge of the Chinese and CIS railways.”
   Any company taking advantage of this opportunity would be required to collect the new equipment from the manufacturer and would be free to arrange shipment with any carrier of their choice to the final port of destination. After the cargo is delivered to the consignee, Advance would require each container to return to the port of destination, from where it will be positioned to the closest container depot.
   Advance prefers the port of destination for the open tops to be Genoa, Hamburg, Antwerp, Rotterdam, New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. For the flat racks, the preferred ports of destination are Genoa, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Houston, Seattle or New York.
   “With such a tremendous shortage of this type of equipment, especially in China, we are sure that there will be a large demand. Therefore, we will be applying the age-old principle of ‘first come, first served,’ ” Kamal added.