OTAL Appoints New Agent

OT Africa Line's presence in North West Russia and the Baltic ports has been strengthened with the appointment by the line's German agent, Ernst Glaessel GmbH, of a new sub-agent based in St Petersburg, Dealex Ltd. OTAL believes that, as a result, it has enhanced its operations throughout the region. The appointment of Dealex means that shippers in North West Russia will now have easier access to OTAL's container and break-bulk services to / from St. Petersburg and West and Central Africa. Rachel Bennett, OTAL's marketing manager, explains: "OTAL has been looking for a representative within North West Russia for a while, especially in light of the recent growth experienced in the country's economy; since 2000 almost all macro-economic indicators (GDP, industrial production, fixed capital investment, external trade and real income per capita) have marked significant economic growth. "During the same period Dealex has established itself as a leading player in the freight forwarding industry. As OTAL's new sub-agent for the region, Dealex Ltd will hopefully be able to offer customers in the area improved access to OTAL's services and to their West African counterparts - the new relationship should benefit all parties!" OTAL already has representative offices covering the Baltic Sea ports in Denmark, Germany, Finland, Poland and Sweden. Adding St Petersburg, through the appointment of Dealex, to its existing portfolio will ensure that OTAL continues to make important in-roads into the Baltic Sea thus further underlining its commitment to developing West Africa's niche markets around the world. The availability of a dedicated agent for the region should also simplify the import / export process for customers as they will now be able to ship cargo more easily using OTAL's Combined Transport Bill of Lading (CTBL) Issued on a door-to-door basis to cover transactions from anywhere in the world to anywhere in West and Central Africa, shippers using OTAL's CTBL can rest safe in the knowledge that their shipments will be looked after by OTAL for the entire duration of the journey, regardless of how many legs there are to it; OTAL takes care of all the transit formalities at the port of discharge and on-carriage using its network of local representatives. It is particularly attractive to shippers who want to pay for the delivery of cargo on a door-to-door basis and is especially useful when shipping goods to the landlocked countries of Central Africa.