FESCO mulls launching shipping services between Russia and Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM. Oct 30 (Interfax) - FESCO Transportation Group, the flagship of which is the Far Eastern Shipping Company (FESCO) , is considering launching shipping services between Russian ports and Tanzania, group vice president Dmitry Pankov said.

"In the near future we plan to launch services that will link Russian ports with the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania," Pankov said at a meeting of the two countries' intergovernmental commission in Tanzania on Tuesday.

Initially this will probably be services with transhipment in India and subsequent sailings to Novorossiysk, the Far East and St. Petersburg, he said. "But our objective is to open a direct service," Pankov said.

Tanzania could serve as a major transport and logistics hub for shipping goods to other countries in East and Central Africa, Pankov said.