Port Bronka, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, and CMA СGM, the France-based container shipping giant, have signed a long-term agreement for handling and storage of container cargo.

Today CMA CGM calls at St. Petersburg with four regular services, connecting St. Petersburg through the European hub ports with all international routes. The calls at Port Bronka will be performed in accordance with a regular schedule with vessels with capacity up to 1,800 TEU.

The agreement will allow CMA CGM improvement of its services and modernization of its fleet with new building of higher size ice class vessels and the development of the new routes for shipments to Russia and entry to new markets.

The deepwater Port Bronka is on the outskirts of St. Petersburg and lies on the southern bank of the Gulf of Finland. The port is directly linked to the St. Petersburg ring road and the Russian rail network. The multifunctional cargo handling facility comprises two terminals plus a logistics center. Covering 264 acres, the container terminal offers five berths along quays extending nearly 4,000 feet.

The roll-on/roll-off terminal covers 141 acres, and with a quay length of 2,300 feet and permits simultaneous handling of three ships. At the first stage of construction, handling capacity of the container terminal totals 1,450,000 TEU per year, plus 260,000 units at the ro/ro terminal. A water depth of 47 feet enables the Port of Bronka to handle post-Panamax vessels.

CMA CGM is the third largest container shipping company with a total fleet capacity of 1,807,298 TEU. The company serves more than 400 ports over the world and is one of the largest container shipping operators in St. Petersburg, including reefer containers.