Black Sea box terminal completes rail upgrade

   NUTEP, a container terminal operator in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, has finished the latest phase of its development program by completing an upgrade to its rail facilities.
   The company removed the original rail lines, constructed a new yard at the rear of the terminal, and increased overall block-train capacity at the terminal to 30 trains, or about 112 TEUs each, a month.
   Two new loading sidings allow NUTEP to handle two block-trains a day, and two dedicated rail-stackers are able to handle traffic at both sidings at the same time. An additional benefit is that terminal storage has been increased by the removal of the old railway lines, bringing the intake capacity up to more than 11,000 TEUs, the company said.
   In 2012, NUTEP handled 215,307 TEUs, which was 7.6 higher than 2011.
   The company will also invest in the construction of an extra container berth which will handle ships of up to 6,000 TEUs and bring the total capacity at NUTEP to 600,000 TEUs by early 2016.
   NUTEP currently has three berths that serve roll-on/roll-off vessels as well as containerships. Customers include the liner services of Maersk, CMA-CGM, Evergreen, COSCO and Admiral Container Lines as well as the regional feeder services of Xpress and EMES.