Sea Express

What Sea Express does

Sea Express (Си Экспресс) is a Russian international freight forwarding company founded in 1995 as an agent for Canadian shipping company Canada Maritime in St. Petersburg. The company is a private limited liability company (ООО «Си Экспресс») headquartered in St. Petersburg with branch offices in Novorossiysk and developing operations in Vladivostok. It employs 51-100 people and operates without proprietary technology platforms, relying on logistics orchestration and coordination of multimodal transport services.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of freight forwarding services organized around four primary transport modes: sea, rail, road, and specialized general/project cargo handling. These core services are supported by port forwarding, customs clearance, cargo insurance, and warehousing operations. The product portfolio addresses door-to-door multimodal transportation for Russian import and export cargo owners, with particular capability in oversized, project, and RO-RO cargo. Sea Express maintains offices at major container terminals in St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk, and is developing Far East operations through Vladivostok to serve Asia-Pacific trade lanes.

Revenue is generated through freight forwarding fees on a custom quote-based pricing model, with rates depending on cargo type, weight, volume, route complexity, and the scope of supplementary services. The go-to-market approach is sales-led, combining direct sales at port terminal offices with online inquiry forms followed by sales team consultation. The company has historically represented major shipping lines (Unifeeder, Hyundai Merchant Marine, CSAV, Montemar Maritima, Canada Maritime, CAST, UTi), which underpins its ability to negotiate competitive freight rates. Leadership rests with Director General Alexandra Kontrovskaya, who assumed the role in January 2019 succeeding Maxim Rodin.

Name

Sea Express

Legal name

ООО «Си Экспресс»

Website

https://sea-express.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sea Express is a Russian international freight forwarding company founded in 1995, offering multimodal sea, rail, and road transportation, customs clearance, port forwarding, cargo insurance, and warehousing services to import/export cargo owners across St. Petersburg, Novorossiysk, and Vladivostok.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Logistics Services

NAICS

Deep Sea Freight Transportation (483111), Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Marine Cargo Handling (48832)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL) (TLACABAF), Project & OOG/Breakbulk Ocean Forwarding (Out-of-Gauge, RoRo) (TLACABAH), Trade Compliance & Ocean Regulatory Services (Sanctions/Export Controls) (TLACABAL)

Keywords

• International freight forwarding
• Multimodal transportation
• Customs clearance services
• Port forwarding
• Cargo insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Petersburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Freight Forwarding Services: Sea Express generates revenue through freight forwarding fees, charging clients for organizing multimodal transportation of import and export cargoes. Services include sea, rail, road, multimodal transport, customs clearance, cargo insurance, warehousing, and port forwarding. Pricing is based on cargo type, volume, route complexity, and service scope.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sea Express is an international freight forwarding company that organizes multimodal transportation of import and export cargoes using sea, rail, and road transport. The company offers door-to-door delivery complemented by port forwarding, customs clearance, cargo insurance, and warehousing services. It operates from offices at major Russian container terminals in St. Petersburg, Novorossiysk, and Vladivostok, serving clients across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Product overview

Sea Express is a diversified international freight forwarding company offering a comprehensive suite of logistics services since 1995. The core product portfolio centers on multimodal transportation combining four primary transport modes: sea, rail, road, and specialized general/project cargo handling. These core services are supported by five supplementary services including port forwarding, customs clearance, cargo insurance, and warehousing. The company operates through offices at major container terminals in St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk, with additional presence in Vladivostok for Far East routes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Multimodal Transportation Transportation of goods using at least two different modes of transport, combining sea, rail, road, warehousing, customs clearance, and cargo tracking for import and export shipments including door-to-door delivery. Designed for companies engaged in international trade requiring flexible, optimized routing.
• Sea Transportation Sea freight services including freight rate negotiation with shipping lines to achieve competitive rates, port forwarding, customs inspection organization, and cargo delivery to ports. Targeted at companies needing reliable ocean freight for import/export shipments.
• Rail Transportation Rail freight services including tariff quotation, payment to Russian Railways, rolling stock provision, loading scheme development, and transportation via accelerated container trains. For clients needing rail-based freight forwarding across Russia and connecting routes.
• Road Transportation Road freight services for shipments up to 1000 km including oversized cargo, truck transportation organization, and customs-controlled container transport. For clients needing final-mile road delivery or short-haul trucking.
• General and Project Cargo Transportation Multi-stage transportation of bulky, non-standard, and heavy cargo requiring specialized routing, multiple transport modes, and specific documentation including RO-RO and rolling machinery. For companies requiring specialized project cargo handling.
• Port Forwarding Intraport operations including terminal operations, government cargo inspection handling, documentation processing, transit permission arrangement, and survey and tally works. For clients needing handling of cargo at Russian container terminals.
• Customs Clearance Customs services including import and export cargo declaration, customs duty calculation, HS code selection, and arrangement of conformity, veterinary, and phytosanitary certificates. For companies needing customs handling for their international shipments.
• Cargo Insurance Voluntary cargo protection services including partial cargo insurance by transport segment and end-to-end freight insurance selected based on individual client needs. For clients needing financial protection for cargo in transit.
• Warehousing Warehouse services including cross-docking, short-term and long-term storage, weighing, marking, repackaging, shipping lot formation, and cargo photography and safekeeping. For clients needing temporary or long-term storage of cargo.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Exporters Club of St. PetersburgminorOthers · 29 July 2022Open platform for establishing business connections, exchanging experience and ideas for joint promotion of products in foreign markets. Sea Express joined as participant in 2022.
• Russian Export Center JSC (REC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 April 2021Sea Express became an accredited partner of the Russian Export Center (REC), a state-owned development institute supporting non-commodity exports. REC supports Russian exporters through various programs and services.
• Russian Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistic Organizations (FAR)coreOthers · 3 March 2020FAR is a non-commercial association uniting freight forwarding companies to expand cooperation, coordinate activities, and protect member rights. Membership confirms high professionalism and business reputation.
• Charter of the Agro-Industrial ComplexminorOthers · 11 February 2020Initiative of agricultural market participants aimed at restoring fair competition and creating honest system for raw material procurement with anti-corruption programs.
• Leningrad Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LO TPP)minorOthers · 1 January 2011Sea Express was admitted as a member of the Leningrad Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2011.
• Shipping Companies (historical partnerships)coreOthersHistorically represented interests of shipping companies including Unifeeder, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), CSAV, Montemar Maritima, Canada Maritime, CAST, UTi. These partnerships allow Sea Express to negotiate competitive freight rates.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Sinokor Merchant Marine: Sinokor is a Korean carrier offering intra-Asia and Russia-Korea feeder services with strong Far East Russia (Vladivostok) coverage. Comparable to Sea Express in ocean forwarding services focused on Russia-Asia trade lanes, though operating as a carrier rather than a forwarder.
• TransContainer: TransContainer is Russia's largest intermodal container operator offering rail and multimodal container transportation across Russian and CIS corridors. Comparable to Sea Express as a Russian rail/multimodal container transportation provider, though at much greater scale and with owned rail assets.
• Ruscon (Multimodal): Ruscon is a Russian multimodal container logistics company offering sea-rail-road transport, customs, and port services with strong Black Sea and Russian domestic coverage. Comparable to Sea Express as a Russian multimodal forwarder with overlapping Novorossiysk presence and similar service portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• DHL Global Forwarding: DHL's freight forwarding division offers international sea, air, and road freight forwarding plus customs clearance. Comparable to Sea Express in core multimodal forwarding and customs services, with substantially larger scale and digital platform capabilities.
• Kuehne+Nagel International AG: Global freight forwarding and logistics incumbent with a full sea, air, road, and customs clearance portfolio, including established Russia operations. Comparable to Sea Express as a one-stop multimodal forwarder with customs brokerage capabilities, though at much larger scale.
• DSV A/S: DSV is one of the world's largest freight forwarders with strong sea, air, and road forwarding capabilities and significant Russia/CIS presence. Comparable to Sea Express as a diversified multimodal forwarder serving global trade corridors, but operating at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth.

Emerging players

• Flexport: Flexport is a digital-first global freight forwarder offering ocean, air, and truck brokerage through a proprietary technology platform. Comparable to Sea Express in offering ocean freight forwarding for importers/exporters, but competing on technology and digital UX rather than terminal presence.

Direct peers

• Expeditors International: US-headquartered global freight forwarder specializing in international ocean and air freight forwarding with integrated customs brokerage. Comparable to Sea Express in core ocean freight forwarding and customs services for import/export cargo owners, though operating globally.
• FESCO (Far Eastern Shipping Company): FESCO is a major Russian integrated intermodal transport and logistics company operating sea, rail, road, and port forwarding services with strong Far East focus including Vladivostok. Directly comparable to Sea Express as a Russian multimodal forwarder with overlapping corridor coverage.

Others

• Eurogate (container terminals): Eurogate operates container terminals and provides port-side forwarding services in Europe, a function adjacent to Sea Express's port forwarding and intraport handling services at St. Petersburg terminals. Comparable as an ecosystem participant in container terminal handling rather than as a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sea-express-russia

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sea Express