Moscow (IP) – The unloading of the first test container cargo was carried out within the framework of the new services of Caspian container shipping lines company for transporting goods in Armada Port between Astrakhan of Russia and Iran.
Iran Press/ Europe: The first special work vessel in the container shipping line between Astrakhan and Iran in the Caspian Sea arrived in Astrakhan on Saturday from the International North-South Transport Corridor.
The ship’s next voyage is scheduled for mid-December.
This is the first dedicated ship in the Iran-Astrakhan freight container shipping line.
Astrakhan Governor Igor Babushkin said the government was trying to launch the maritime section of the International North-South Transport Corridor, which is a strategic move at the Russian federal level.
He added that “we are acting within the framework of the instructions of the Russian president, who supported the establishment of a special economic zone in the Astrakhan region.”
Babushkin stated that the importance of the International North-South Transport Corridor is increasing today due to the increase in trade between Russia and Europe with India and the great interest of Western European companies to send goods to Central Asian countries.
Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Yury Tsvetkov also said: “We are planning for the rapid development of the International North-South Transport Corridor, which, of course, needs to solve many related issues such as dredging, construction of container terminals, and the development of Astrakhan ports.”
He stated that the development of information and digital technology in the container shipping line has been approved by the government of the Russian Federation, which will be implemented in the next stage.
Tsvetkov pointed out that this is done jointly by private investment companies with the support of the governments of Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan, India, and Germany.
The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Moscow Kazem Jalali also stated that the International North-South Transport Corridor, as a long-term investment, will play an important role in the development of trade between the two countries and the route will have a bright future.
According to Jalali, the project aims to create a transport infrastructure to transport cargo from Asia to Europe and vice versa through Iranian and Russian ports in the Caspian Sea.
The port of Olya of Astrakhan and the port of Lagan of Kalmykia are to be part of the International North-South Transport Corridor.
With the implementation of this project, Northern Europe will be connected to East Asia through Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Russia, and the initial goal written for this project is the annual transit of five million tons of goods through this route.
