Just wondering if anyone saw John Simpsons report last night from the Khyber Pass, he was at a border control point between Afghanistan and Pakistan and in the background was a truck with Hock Spedition livery on a Mercedes cab. Unfortunately couldn’t see if it had German plates though - just made me think this truck was a long way from home in a very dangerous part of the world.
It made me wonder about how many other European trucks use this route - and who the drivers were. Maybe NATO drivers?
Yes that seems to be them. I’m not a driver but I install printing presses throughout Europe / Asia.
A few years ago we installed an MAN newspaper press in Karachi and some of the parts (folder and rollers) came overland from Augsberg Germany to the factory in Karachi. All the trucks were German reg with no logos on the side. As you can imagine things were almost as volatile then as they are now, but I remember one of the drivers mentioning they missed out Afghanistan on the way out?
This is the furthest East I’ve seen parts delivered by road - must have been a great trip though.
I’m 99% sure it was just a truck that had retired with Hock and was sold to this part of world for his second and then few more subsequent lives.
It might have travelled on his own though, it’s not uncommon for these vehicles to be driven from Germany or Netherlands to Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Mongolia, wherever).
it looks like this firm do go further than most as the uts is world wide
and so there service would have the means to carry out such trips,
like relocating firms, diplomats etc