Port News & Information Mediterranean, Black & Caspian Seas

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by both area and volume. It is bordered by Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. It has a surface area of 371,000 km². The ports of the littoral states include key trading hubs in international transport corridors and the new Silk Road; including Baku, Aktau & Astrakhan. The sea has become topical since the Russian invasion of Ukraine (started 24.02.2022) as traders seek routes which do not pass through Russian territory. The heavily-sanctioned states of Russia and Iran also have interests in the Caspian Sea’s transport capacity.

EU sanctions Iran’s Caspian ports of Amirabad and Anzali

Brussels, Belgium (Ports Europe) November 20, 2024 – The European Union (EU) sanctioned Iran’s Caspian Sea ports of Amirabad and Anzali on November 18 and...

2.6 times more containers via Middle Corridor in Jan-Oct’24

Astana, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) November 17, 2024 – Container shipments along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, Middle Corridor),...

New grain terminal in Kazakhstan’s Kuryk port

Kuryk, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) November 12, 2024 – A new grain terminal with a capacity of 1 million tonnes per year has been commissioned in...

New intermodal cargo terminal in Azerbaijan’s Alyat port

Alyat, Azerbaijan (Ports Europe) November 12, 2024 – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China created a joint venture to build a new 40-hectare large intermodal...

Ukraine hits Russian navy ships in Caspian Sea

Kaspiysk, Russia (Ports Europe) November 6, 2024 – Ukraine hit, for the first time, Russian navy ships on November 6 in their Caspian Sea base of...

2024 cargo: 1 mln tonnes for Olya, 4.3 mln tonnes for Astrakhan, Russia

Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) October 30, 2024 – The still-under-construction Russia’s Caspian Sea port of Olya (Astrakhan region) will reach a...

Table: Russian ports monthly cargo results Oct 23-Sep 24

Moscow, Russia (Ports Europe) October 15, 2024 – The table below, prepared by Ports Europe, shows monthly cargo handling figures for Russian ports in...

70% cargo increase along the Middle Corridor in Jan-Sep’24

Astana, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) October 11, 2024 – Cargo transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, Middle...

Russia and Azerbaijan create committee on Caspian shallowing

Baku, Azerbaijan (Ports Europe) October 6, 2024 – “Want to kill an idea? Form a committee”. Caspian Sea shallowing has led to reduced load of ships and...

Kazakhstan’s ports handled 4.5 million tonnes of cargo in Jan-Aug’24

Kuryk, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) September 26, 2024 – Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea ports of Aktau and Kuryk handled 4.5 million tonnes of cargo in the...

Russia’s total containers’ market in Jan-Aug’24 was 4.39 mln TEUs

Moscow, Russia (Ports Europe) September 22, 2024 – Russia’s container market grew 8.1% in January-August 2024, compared to the first eight months of 2023...

Russian ports: 446,600 TEUs in August, 3.65 mln TEUs in Jan-Aug’24

Moscow, Russia (Ports Europe) September 19, 2024 – Russian ports handled 446,600 TEUs in August 2024, an increase of 5.7% or 24,000 TEUs compared to...

Russian ports handled 596.2 mln tonnes of cargo Jan-Aug 2024

Moscow, Russia (Ports Europe) September 15, 2024 – Cargo turnover of Russian seaports in January-August 2024 decreased by 3.1% compared to the first eight...

Update: China to help (again) Russia’s North-South corridor

Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) September 12, 2024 – Russia is again relying on help from China to develop a strategic transportation project – the...

Landlocked Uzbekistan increasing cargo transport via Azerbaijan

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Ports Europe) September 10, 2024 – Cargo transportation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan will grow 20-30% in 2024, according to...

Nafith signs MOU with Port of Kuryk, Kazakhstan

Kuryk, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) September 4, 2024 – The Nafith International Group of Jordan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the...

Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan to invest $150 mln in transport

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (Ports Europe) September 4, 2024 – Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan are developing measures worth some $150 million to expand cooperation...

Yet another dredging of Astrakhan port on shrinking Caspian Sea

Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) September 3, 2024 – More than 46 million rubles (463,000 euros) are allocated for yet another dredging of Russia’s...

Putin alarmed by shrinking Caspian Sea, but no way to prevent it

Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) September 2, 2024 – After decades of ignoring the shallowing of the Caspian Sea, Russia has suddenly started looking for...

Russia’s Astrakhan ports cargo keeps growing from a small base

Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) August 28, 2024 – Cargo turnover of Russia’s Caspian Sea ports of Astrakhan and Olya for January-July 2024 increased...

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