Iran's trade (excluding crude oil exports) with Caspian Sea littoral states stood at 2.45 million tons worth $1.34 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal year (March 21-July 22), according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Russia was Iran’s main trading partner among Caspian states with 1.36 million tons worth $831.03 million during the period under review. It was followed by Azerbaijan Republic with 259,103 tons worth $245.32 million, Turkmenistan with 438,957 tons worth $142.84 million and Kazakhstan with 207,349 tons worth $125.62 million.
Iran’s exports hit 1.32 million tons worth $645.72 million.
Azerbaijan was Iran’s biggest export destination with 427,033 tons worth $232.29 million, followed by Russia with 250,496 tons worth $231.81 million, Turkmenistan with 438,957 tons worth $132.26 million and Kazakhstan with 207,349 tons worth $49.37 million.
Imports from the four countries under review hit 1.13 million tons worth $699.09 million.
Russia was the top exporter to Iran with 930,267 tons worth $598.74 million. It was followed by Kazakhstan with 172,760 tons worth $76.25 million, Turkmenistan with 18,212 tons worth $10.59 million and Azerbaijan with 8,606 tons worth $13.51 million.
Non-oil trade with Caspian states hit 7.91 million tons worth $3.48 billion in the fiscal 2021-22 (ended March 20) and reached 6.24 million tons worth $2 billion in the fiscal 2020-21.
INSTC to Raise Small Share of Caspian Ports Shipping
The combined capacity of Iran’s five Caspian ports, namely Anzali, Noshahr, Fereydounkenar, Astara and Amirabad, has reached 35 million tons that account for only about 13% of the total capacity of Iranian ports, according to Jalil Eslami, the deputy head of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran.
“Poor export infrastructures and lack of adequate equipment are to blame for the low shipping traffic of northern Iranian ports and freight forwarding companies, as well as traders’ reluctance to use their services,” Ali Chagharvand, director of Plan Management, Planning and Monitoring Department of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, wrote for Tasnim News Agency.
"Traders and transportation companies do not avail themselves of the numerous advantages of Iran’s northern ports that are in recession. Economic players believe that they are uneconomical. This is while by removing obstacles, freight transportation and trade through northern ports can become a viable alternative to other transit routes and even southern ports,” he said.
According to the official, in the fiscal 2020-21, a meager 5-6 tons of the overall capacity of northern ports were used, as demand for their services has declined in recent years.
"Noshahr Port has considerable advantages, including its proximity to the capital city and major commercial and industrial centers, easy access to the consumer markets of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, access to airport, availability of facilities for storage and movement of commercial goods, petroleum products and solid bulk cargo, having exclusive warehouses and special facilities for export and transit, as well as direct connection through pipelines to Chalous oil reservoirs. However, due to several reasons, the port’s shipping traffic is even lower than that of Amirabad Port,” he said.
The operationalization of the International North-South Transportation Corridor could give impetus to the northern ports.
Iran’s state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines has moved to expand its network by facilitating the transport of Russian goods to India via INSTC, a land-sea corridor passing through a dozen countries to bypass Western sanctions against Russia, Splash247.com reported.
The corridor has entered the operational phase after completing a trial phase in June when containers of wood laminate sheets departed from St. Petersburg toward Nhava Sheva Port in India.
The cargo arrived in India earlier this month from Astrakhan Port in southern Russia via the Iranian ports of Anzali on the Caspian Sea and Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf.
The establishment of INSTC, the multimodal network of ships, rail and roads for moving freight between Eastern Europe and South Asia, was first introduced in September 2000. Due to geopolitical obstacles, interest in the route waned over time, but it has come into the spotlight following the conflict in Ukraine.
IRISL has assigned 300 containers to transport goods between Russia and India, and if demand increases, the number of these containers could also increase.
IRISL Plans to Boost Caspian Shipping
New vessels will soon be joining IRISL to increase the capacity of shipping in the Caspian Sea, says the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.
“Agreements have been signed between Khazar Sea Shipping Lines [a subsidiary of IRISL Group] and a domestic manufacturer for the production of two RO-RO ships and two general cargo vessels, which are due to be delivered within two years,” Mohammad Reza Modarres-Khiyabani, the CEO of IRISL Group, was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency recently.
With the four new vessels, the capacity of Khazar Sea Shipping Lines will increase by 16%, he added.
Established in 1992, Khazar Sea Shipping Lines is one of the biggest providers of marine transportation services in the Caspian Sea.
KSSL announced recently that container transit shipping lines have been launched between the ports of northern Iran and Russia’s Makhachkala Port.
It will from now on transport refrigerated and general container consignments from ports in Iran’s northern provinces to the port in Makhachkala, previously known as Petrovskoye, IRNA reported.
Makhachkala is the only Russian port on the Caspian Sea shores, the access route to which is not severed in winter by frozen waters.
Transporting containers from Iran to Moscow via this port is 30% more efficient in terms of time and cost compared to the route that passes through Azerbaijan Republic.
Makhachkala is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia located along the shore of Caspian Sea.
KSSL and the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 13 to establish six regular shipping routes for the transport of freight between Iran’s northern ports in the Caspian Sea and those of Russia and Kazakhstan.
The signatories, Davoud Tafti, the CEO of Khazar Sea Shipping Lines, and Alireza Peymanpak, the head of TPO, agreed to expand these marine transportation lines to eight by March 2022.
“Freight will be transported on a regular schedule between the Iranian ports of Amirabad, Anzali and Noshahr, and Russia’s Makhachkala and Astrakhan, and Kazakhstan’s Aktau. Two other optional routes from Iran’s Astara and Fereydounkenar ports have been included in the MoU to carry cargo to the above-mentioned ports in Russia and Kazakhstan on demand,” Tafti was quoted as saying by ILNA.
TPO, affiliated with the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade, has also agreed to compensate any possible financial loss on the part of Khazar Sea Shipping Lines.
The shipping line has the capacity to transport 200,000 tons of cargo per year while container loading and unloading capacity amounts to 6,000 TEUs per year.
The company has 23 vessels under its name, 15 of which can carry containers.
Infrastructures are ready for commodity transit from Iran's southern ports to the north and through Caspian Sea, the CEO told Trend News Agency in an interview.
"We are interacting with southern ports, commodity owners and companies in China, Russia, South Korea, Singapore and India for promoting cargo transportation through the International North-South Transportation Corridor and Iran's East-West Transit Corridor to Eurasian countries," Tafti explained.
KSSL Registers 162% Rise in Shipments
Transit of goods by Khazar Sea Shipping Lines increased by 162% in the fiscal 2021-22, thanks to the unwavering support lent by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.
According to Tafti, Khazar Sea Shipping Lines is operating weekly container shipping services on the China-Kazakhstan-Iran container route.
“Khazar Sea Shipping Lines has found new transit markets. For example, it carried 3,213 vehicles in 2021-22, registering a 346% growth compared with the year before. Container throughput reached 9,389 TEU [twenty-foot equivalent unit] last year, indicating a 63% growth. Bulk and general shipping also increased by 21% to reach 1.16 million tons,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Noting that the company had expanded its services to the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, India and Pakistan, Tafti said, “Khazar Sea Shipping Lines now accounts for 32.5% of the Caspian Sea shipping market [2.3% growth in its share of the market was registered in 2021-22]. The operating income of the company increased by 53% in 2021-22 compared with the year before.”
