Kazakhstan's maritime shipping giant Kazmortransflot, a subsidiary of the national oil and gas company KazMunayGaz (KMG), has reported a significant increase in its oil and container transportation volumes along the strategic Aktau-Baku route in the Caspian Sea.
According to Report, which cites KMG data, Kazmortransflot transported 25,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of containers via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) during the first seven months of 2024. This figure represents a remarkable 2.4-fold increase compared to the same period in 2023.
The company also celebrated a major milestone in early August, as the total volume of container traffic on the Aktau-Baku line, launched in April 2019, surpassed the 100,000 TEU mark.
In terms of oil transportation, Kazmortransflot's performance has been equally impressive. The company transported 1.292 million tons of oil across the Caspian Sea from January to July 2024, marking a 3.9-fold increase compared to the same period last year. Notably, the Aktau-Baku route saw a 75% surge in oil transportation, rising from 246,000 tons to 431,000 tons during the reporting period.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle Corridor, is a vital international transport artery connecting China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, and onward to European countries. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway forms a crucial part of this corridor.