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.
Update: Belarus cargo to test North-South corridor in spring
Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) February 6, 2024 – Sanctions-hit Belarus is aggressively pursuing alternative cargo transportation options via Russia, a...
Azerbaijan borrows to increase its Caspian fleet
Baku, Azerbaijan (Ports Europe) February 2, 2024 – Azerbaijan’s ambition is to continue to dominate shipping and cargo handling in the Caspian Sea region...
Russian Railways visits international seaport of Turkmenbashi
Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan (Ports Europe) February 1, 2024 – A delegation from Russian Railways Logistics (RZD Logistics) has visited the international...
Turkmenistan to build ships for shrinking Caspian Sea
Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan (Ports Europe) February 1, 2024 – Under pressure from the shrinking Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan’s Balkan shipbuilding and ship...
Turkmenistan to join International Maritime Organization convention
Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan (Ports Europe) January 31, 2024 – The government has stated its intention to join the Convention on Facilitation of...
Iran’s logistics center in Astrakhan
Astrakhan, Russia (PortSEurope) January 31, 2024 – Russia’s Astrakhan region has identified a plot of land near the Caspian port of Astrakhan special...
Kazakhstan invites Port of Rotterdam to manage its ports
Rotterdam, Netherlands (Ports Europe) January 31, 2024 – The Port of Rotterdam has been invited to participate in projects to transform the Caspian Sea...
Astrakhan is a centre of Russia’s Caspian logistics
Astrakhan, Russia (Ports Europe) January 30, 2024 – Hard pressed by Western sanctions, Russia is trying to find alternative transport routes towards...
Aktau, the next Caspian Sea port to start dredging
Aktau, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) January 29, 2024 – The Caspian Sea port of Aktau has released some details about its planned dredging activities. An...
Kazakhstan ports set for European management
Aktau, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) January 29, 2024 – The government will approve the management of its seaports, Aktau and Kuryk, by European companies....
Sanctions and transport in Russia’s south
Moscow, Russia (Ports Europe) January 29, 2024 – It’s becoming difficult to obtain information and data about Russia’s transport and logistics,...
Update: How much cargo is handled in Makhachkala port?
Makhachkala, Russia (Ports Europe) January 26, 2024 – Different organisations and authorities in Russia report very different port cargo handling figures....
First cruise service visiting all Caspian states
Astrakhan, Russia (PortSEurope) January 21, 2024 – Moscow has decided to replace services affected by Western sanctions opportunities for Russian...
Russian ports handled 4.96 million TEUs in 2023
Moscow, Russia (Ports Europe) January 19, 2024 – Container turnover of all Russian ports in 2023 reached 4.96 million TEUs, which is 15% higher than in...
Urgent dredging to start in Baku port, Caspian Sea shrinks
Baku, Azerbaijan (Ports Europe) January 10, 2024 – Dredging will start in the coming days in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea port of Baku, which will allow access...
Update: Makhachkala port partly reopens after dredging
Makhachkala, Russia (Ports Europe) January 10, 2024 – The oil terminal of Russia’s Caspian Sea port of Makhachkala reopened after emergency dredging to...
Kazakhstan plans dredging of Ural-Caspian Canal
Astana, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) January 2, 2024 – Kazakhstan plans to start dredging of the Ural River-Caspian Sea Canal in 2024 and include the...
Restart of cargo ferry between Astrakhan and Turkmenbashi
Astrakhan, Russia (PortSEurope) December 20, 2023 – The Caspian Sea regular ferry line between the ports of Russia’s Astrakhan region (Astrakhan and...
Shrinking Caspian Sea forces Kazakhstan to dredge its ports
Kuryk, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) December 13, 2023 – Faced with a shrinking Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan’s port of Kuryk starts urgent dredging works. They...
New service links Aktau, Turkmenbashi & Constanta ports
Aktau, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) December 12, 2023 – ADY Container LLC is launching a new service connecting Kazakhstan’s Aktau and Turkmenbashi...