Khazar considers two more vessel orders at Astrakhan shipyards

Liquid cargo and container vessels under consideration

Khazar Sea Shipping Lines is considering ordering a liquid cargo vessel and a container ship from shipyards in Astrakhan, Russia. Yekaterina Adler, head of the company’s Russian commercial office, outlined the plans at the North-South International Transport Corridor forum on 14 November 2024. The subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, or IRISL, wants to expand beyond dry cargo services into container and oil shipments. Contract-signing dates remain uncertain, according to Adler.

Khazar’s existing fleet comprises 30 dry cargo vessels, according to the company website cited by Interfax. They carry general cargo, containers and bulk commodities. Its routes serve Caspian ports in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, alongside Russian destinations and Iran’s northern ports. The additional vessels remain prospective orders, while another ship, Kaspiysky Bereg, is being prepared for delivery at the Lotos yard.

Kaspiysky Bereg moves through construction

Lotos launched Kaspiysky Bereg on 13 March 2024. The yard belongs to United Shipbuilding Corporation’s Southern Shipbuilding and Repair Center. State Transport Leasing Company, known as GTLK, holds the construction contract. At the launch, center head Anatoly Mishanov said the customer wanted additional equipment for carrying containers, including refrigerated units. Completion and installation of that equipment were to precede trials and eventual handover.

The RSD49 design has three cargo holds with a combined volume of 10,921 cubic metres. Its middle hold extends 52 metres to accommodate oversized freight. The vessel’s principal dimensions are:

• Overall length: 139.95 metres.
• Moulded breadth: 16.6 metres.
• Moulded depth: six metres.

The design supports general, bulk, timber, grain, oversized and hazardous cargo. River deadweight is 4,520 tonnes at a draught of 3.6 metres; sea deadweight is 7,510 tonnes at 4.7 metres. These capacities apply to different draughts and operating waters.

Earlier additions to the Caspian fleet

Astrakhan Port previously purchased the dry cargo ships Nevsky Bereg and Baltiysky Bereg to form a group transporting freight abroad. Each has a carrying capacity exceeding 3,500 tonnes. Baltiysky Bereg’s first-voyage departure ceremony took place at Astrakhan Port in November 2023, with Iran’s consul general in Astrakhan, Mehdi Akuchekian, attending.

Regional industry minister Ilya Volynsky linked the growing number of vessels carrying cargo across the Caspian to development of the North-South corridor. He also associated those sailings with strengthening Astrakhan’s position as a major logistics centre.