Soviet Armada Poised for Major Thrust into Reefer Trades

The integration of former Soviet shipping companies into world reefer shipping has taken a giant step forward with the formation of a new deep sea pool. A consortium of seven companies in the USSR has combined their resources to form Ocean Reefer Transport, which will be initially responsible for five vessels between 5,000 and about 11,000 dwt. However, long term plans envisage the transfer of up to 60 ships in the Bukhta and Cristal classes to the pool. The actual number of ships committed to the pool will vary from 10 to around 50, depending on market conditions.

In the formative stages, the pool will be represented in New York by the newly formed agency Trans Ocean Express Ltd., run by 25-year-old Daniel Lev. The company is jointly owned by Lev and companies participating in the pool. Later in the year, the headquarters will be transferred to Panama, coinciding with the opening of branch offices in Moscow, Vladivostock, Kaliningrad, Riga, Klaipeda, Sebastopol and Murmansk. The new Panamanian company will be staffed by Soviets and Lev, whose family emigrated to America 15 years ago and has interests in the film industry.

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