CMA CGM is in the final stages of laying out the operational framework to begin accepting container bookings from India to Russia as carriers search for incremental cargo opportunities to lift revenue and profitability amid multiple market challenges.

The French carrier plans to enter the long-crimped trade lane via subsidiary brand CNC Line, with a targeted launch in January, market sources say.

The strategy behind operating on a group arm bill of lading system instead of CMA CGM’s own contract of carriage/instrument is to limit potential operational and compliance risks from ongoing Western sanctions against Russia due to Moscow’s almost four-year-long war against Ukraine, sources believe.

Founded in 1971, Singapore-headquartered CNC (formerly Cheng Lie Navigation Company) — a predominant intra-Asia operator — was acquired by CMA CGM in 2007.

CMA CGM declined to comment on the matter when contacted by the Journal of Commerce.

Transshipment options

Current indications are that space will be allocated on CMA CGM’s India-Europe “Epic” service for Russian loading out of Nhava Sheva and Mundra with likely transshipment options over Hamburg. To that end, the carrier is said to be considering expanding its Finland Express (FLX) service with a new call to St. Petersburg, Russia’s main gateway port. The Baltic feeder now rotates Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Rauma, Tallinn, Kotka, Helsinki and Bremerhaven, available data shows.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is the only mainline carrier that has continued to provide coverage for Indian shipments to Russia on the back of multiple feeder networks between North Europe and Russia, including the Baltic Loop 02 that shuttles between Antwerp, Klaipeda, Kotka and St. Petersburg.

Corten Shipping is one emerging secondary carrier on the India-Russia trade lane, offering two fortnightly direct connections out of Nhava Sheva/Kandla with three 1,500-TEU ships that boast transit times of 25 days to St. Petersburg and 18 days to Novorossiysk.

Considering the typical limitations of sanctioned trades, pharmaceutical products as well as food and agricultural items are generally shipped to Russia, although some construction materials, mainly tiles, are also carried by ad-hoc vessel operators.

Anecdotal industry data puts India-Russia container volumes at 8,000 TEUs a week. The freight yield is admittedly lucrative for capacity participants — pegged at $3,000 per TEU and $4,000 per FEU for dry cargo and $9,000 per FEU for reefer loads from Nhava Sheva to St. Petersburg.

As US tariff-stricken Indian exporters and policy makers seek trade diversification, Russian volume gains are one option on the table.