Maersk to transport aluminum for Russian producer

Under the three-year deal with global aluminum manufacturer RUSAL, annual cargo volumes could reach 10,000 TEUs, according to Danish ocean carrier Maersk Line.    Maersk Line has signed a deal to move up to 10,000 TEU of product for RUSAL, a leading global aluminum producer, the ocean carrier said in a statement.
   Maersk will move RUSAL’s products, particularly aluminium and alloys, under a three-year agreement that includes options for further extension.
   Marko Mihajić, regional communications manager for Maersk in North Europe, said most aluminum today is shipped as breakbulk cargo. RUSAL is shifting some of its shipments from breakbulk to container ships, but already moves some aluminum in containers.
   Aluminum is shipped in 20-foot containers that can hold up to 25 metric tons of product, Mihajić explained, but the cargo “weighs out” before it “cubes out,” meaning the container can only be partially loaded because aluminum is so heavy. Lighter products, on the other hand, will cube out, filling the box entirely, before they reach the maximum weight limit.
   The deal is attractive to Maersk both because it represents rare backhaul cargo out Europe and because it makes long term strategic planning possible, he said.
   “The signing of this agreement is a confirmation of the mutual intentions to build a long-term strategic partnership between RUSAL and Maersk Line. The aim of the agreement is the joint search for the most optimal logistic solutions aimed at optimizing costs for both parties,” said RUSAL Cheif Executive Officer Vladislav Soloviev.
   “Our agreement with RUSAL includes three of our brands: Seago Line, MCC and Maersk Line. It is therefore also a testimony of our global reach as well as our regional expertise,” added Søren Skou, the chief executive officer of Maersk Line.
   RUSAL said in 2015 its share of global aluminium and global alumina production reached 7 percent.
   The aluminum will be produced at the main plants of RUSAL, including large smelters in Siberia in Irkutsk, Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk and Sayanogorsk.
   In its most recent annual report, RUSAL noted it consolidated freight functions “with the goal to optimize and to improve efficiency of logistics through the ‘from supplier to customer’ supply chain management, to satisfy customer demands and requirements, to shorten time of products delivery, to effectively plan multimodal transportation of products, to optimize the company’s logistics costs through standardization of logistics processes.”