SAFETRANS Line, sister company of Transfar Shipping, has launched a liner service linking China with Morocco and Russia, joining several other newcomers on the Russian lane, reports London's Loadstar.

According to Linerlytica, the St Petersburg Direct service, calling at Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Tangier (irregular), St Petersburg and Qingdao, began late last week with the newly chartered 3,469 TEU Heng Hui 2.

Three chartered ships from Zhonggu Logistics of 3,398-4,872 TEU, Transfar has diverted from its waning transpacific service, will soon join the loop, as will three more in April to boost frequency.

Transfar and Safetrans are owned by China-based forwarder Worldwide Logistics, in which Alibaba's logistics unit Cainiao has a minority stake.

In its latest report, Linerlytica remarked: "One year after the Russia-Ukraine conflict started on February 24, 2022, there have been significant shifts in the Russian container shipping landscape after sanctions shut off most of the traditional Baltic trade to Russia."

Players unfazed by sanctions targeting Russia have jumped into the fray, with newcomers such as Safetrans, Torgmoll, Reel Shipping and OVP Shipping adding ships to the trade.

Congestion at the Russian Far East gateways of Vladivostok and Vostochny have generated demand for new services from Asia to the Black Sea and Baltic gateways of Novorossiysk and St Petersburg.

MSC retains a considerable presence in the Russian trades with feeder operations in all three Russian gateways while reputational risks have seen the other key European carriers withdrawing completely from the market.

Linerlytica estimates there are now 89 ships totalling nearly 92,000 TEU, serving the Russia Far East trade.

Russian container carriers have been acquiring tonnage to meet healthy demand, even as the overall freight market is bleak.