A new shipping line will be launched from the Marmara Sea to the Caspian Sea and it will directly connect Turkey to the Central Asian region, via the Russian inland waterways.
The new shipping route, called the Turkey-Caspian line, will be jointly launched by P&O Maritime Logistics with the support of DP World Yarımca and several other DP World group companies, P&O Maritime Logistics said in its Tuesday press release.
The company added that the line will provide regular container-based shipping between Turkey and the Central Asian region for the first time.
The line’s launch follows a trial voyage at the end of April 2021.
In 2020, approximately $31.2billion in trade took place between Turkey, Russia and Central Asia. The region accounts for 6% of Turkey’s exports and 9.6% of Turkey’s imports.
P&O Maritime Logistics is set to utilize its Multi Carrying Vessel (MCV) on a service connecting Turkey’s deepwater Yarimca port, near Istanbul, with the Kazakh port of Aktau and the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi, via Russia’s inland waterways.
“MCV type vessels are ideally suited to navigate the Russian rivers, and it is expected that at least two more vessels will be outfitted and classed for container carriage for the new line’s launch in the coming months,” the company said in the statement.
It added that it expected to carry “mainly transport containerized products, such as industrial machines, construction materials, textiles, cosmetics, white goods and marble, while additionally offering a convenient service for breakbulk and project cargo”.
P&O Maritime Logistics Chief Executive Martin Helweg said that “there is immense potential for increasing the efficiency of trade between Turkey, Russia and Central Asia.
Headquartered in Dubai, P&O Maritime Logistics is a leading provider of marine solutions with a focus on offshore energy, port services and logistics. The company owns and operates approximately 400 vessels.
DP World Yarımca, located on a land of 46 hectares, is one of the largest container terminals in the Marmara region. The port is capable of handling 1.3 million TEU containers.