Turkmenistan Belt And Road Developing Between China And Europe As More Caspian Shipping Volumes Are Added

Turkmenbashi Port

Additional maritime capacity is being added to the Baku-Turkmenbashi Caspian sea route due to demand for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey-Europe multimodal route, which saw container volumes increase by over 100% in 2021.

According to the operator, ADY Containers, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Rail, some 17,500 TEU containers have already been transported in both directions of this route.

This transcontinental multimodal railway route was established in 2019 with the participation of Azerbaijan Railways and state railways of relevant countries. Turkey joined the route in December 2021. At present, containerized cargo on this route is transported from Turkey via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, as well as from the Georgian ports of Poti and Batumi to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and in the opposite direction.

Two additional vessels will operate in the Caspian Sea in the direction of Baku -Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) – Baku from 2022, with the “Shair Sabir” and “Mahmud Rahimov” ships carrying containers between Baku and Turkmenbashi. Together with the number of vessels, the number of weekly voyages will also increase.

The first direct shipping connection between these ports was launched in April 2019.

Cargo transportation is carried out by Turkish Pasifik Eurasia Logistics, Georgian GR Logistics and Terminals, Azerbaijan’s ADY Container, Turkmen Transport and Logistics Center OJSC, Uzbekistan’s O’zbektemiryo’lekspeditsia, and the operator of the Kyrgyzstan Railways.

Turkmenistan is gradually opening up to global trade routes and is ideally placed as a strategic transiting route between Asia and Europe.

Related Reading

• Turkmenistan: Gradually Opening To The World Via Belt & Road Trade
• Turkmenbashi’s Caspian Window and the Turkmenistan Belt and Road