AP Moller Maersk launched on January, a new block train dedicated to transporting Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from China to Poland as mainland Europe continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accordingly, on January 23, the train departed from the Chinese city of Yiwu on its way to the intermodal terminal in Małaszewicze, Poland, carrying personal protective equipment (PPE) procured by Zarys International Group, a leading Polish medical supplies provider, and commissioned by the Polish Material Reserves Agency.
Paweł Ossowski, President of the Board of ZARYS explained that the pandemic has made the medical equipment more needed and more important than ever. He added that the increased demand for PPE led them to ask Maersk’s assistance.
Justyna Barycza, Customer Experience Manager and Poland Country Representative at Maersk, expressed the company’s will to always assist in times like these, commenting that “we are always committed to making specific transportation arrangements for our local customers and such an important project required extra dedication. We are very proud of our teams in Asia and Europe, who moved mountains to make this delivery possible, so we could keep our promise.”
The Material Reserves Agency is a Polish national institution that purchases, stores and distributes strategic reserves. Its supply of medical reserves includes medicines, vaccines, disinfectants, protective clothing and all other medical equipment currently needed in the fight against COVID-19. The protective equipment carried by Maersk’s new block train will ultimately be distributed to medical institutions across the country.
Overall, during 2020, Maersk arranged 209 tailored intercontinental trains from China to European countries, including Germany, France, Sweden, Poland, Belarus and Russia and has increased its footprint in Turkey and Georgia with first-ever block trains developed for those markets. The company has also expanded its sea-rail-sea product, which became a permanent product in October, after being launched also in the eastbound direction in March 2020, connecting North European origins with several destination ports in Asia.
