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.
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...
Vessel traffic systems in Kazakh Caspian ports in 2025
Aktau, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) August 19, 2024 – Commissioning of the vessel traffic services system (VTS) in Kazakhstan’s main Caspian Sea port of...
Shrinking Caspian is a bonanza for Jan De Nul
Kuryk, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) August 16, 2024 – After winning the tender for the maritime infrastructure of Anaklia, Georgia’s first deep sea port on...
Kazakhstan’s Sarzha terminal sends out first loaded ship
Kuryk, Kazakstan (PortSEurope) August 8, 2024 – The first regular voyage to leave the still-under-construction multifunctional marine terminal (MMT) Sarzha...
Iran’s Caspian ports improve cargo results
Nowshahr, Iran (Ports Europe) August 7, 2024 – Iran’s Caspian Sea ports of Nowshahr (Now Shahr, Noshahr) and Fereydoonkenar (Fereydun Kenar), in the...
Update: Dredging of Kuryk by Jan de Nul to add 2 m draft
Kuryk, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) August 6, 2024 – Dredging work by Belgium’s company Jan de Nul is underway in the waters of the Kazakhstan’s Caspian...
Iran wants to construct a Kazakh terminal in the Persian Gulf
Astana, Kazakhstan (Ports Europe) July 29, 2024 – Iranian shipping company Golden Line is interested in constructing a Kazakhstan cargo terminal in...