Warning on Russian trips
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• International hauliers are being warned that transit problems in Russia could occur "at any time" as the country's Customs staff lake action against foreign hauliers.
Road Haulage Association international controller Mike Freeman, who has just returned from a fact-finding trip in Moscow, says hauliers must stick rigidly to Russian rules if they wish to travel trouble-free.
Russian Customs has drawn up a blacklist of 40 hauliers which have been banned from national soil for breaking local rules. Infringements include breaking the Russian stipulation that TIR hauliers must use a towing vehicle of the same nationality as the 'FIR camel.
A number of Dutch and Danish hauliers, as well as a large number of eastern European operators, have run into trouble after using foreign subcontractors.
As well as the banned list, Russian Customs has a list of hauliers which are watched closely because they are thought likely to infringe the rules. "We can't try to bend them, we must stick tightly to the rules and even then we can't be sure the situation won't blow up at any time." says Freeman.