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- Entrance maneuver: Russia will accelerate the development of the North–South corridor through the Caspian Sea
Entrance maneuver: Russia will accelerate the development of the North–South corridor through the Caspian Sea
The North–South transport corridor is capable of connecting Russia with friendly countries and becoming an alternative to trade routes controlled by the West. This was stated at a meeting in the Astrakhan region by Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, head of the Maritime Board. According to him, the North–South MTK link with the Transarctic route will significantly change logistics in Eurasia. Experts believe that the conflict over Iran did not lead to massive cancellations of supplies, the participants were able to rebuild logistics. However, the further development of the corridor depends on the modernization of the shipbuilding industry and inland waterways.
The North-South corridor will change logistics in Eurasia
The development of the North–South transport corridor in conjunction with the emerging Transarctic route will significantly change the map of Eurasian logistics routes, Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and head of the Maritime Board, said at a meeting in the Astrakhan region.
"The expansion of trade and economic ties with Southeast Asian countries, whose market is growing rapidly, as well as with East African countries that need our goods and raw materials, primarily grain and fertilizers, will help to increase the transit potential of the North—South transport corridor," Patrushev stressed.
Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Head of the Maritime Board, is holding a meeting on the development of maritime and port infrastructure in the interests of ensuring the functioning of the North-South international transport corridor in Astrakhan.
According to him, the Persian Gulf countries are extremely interested in creating large logistics hubs for Russian grain on their territory. Moreover, the states of the region are ready to invest in the development of these projects.
The North–South railway is also becoming especially important because this route is an alternative to the sea routes controlled by the West. In addition, the corridor is capable of connecting Russia with friendly countries and increasing the stability of global trade, Patrushev stressed. Earlier, EU countries detained a number of tankers in the Baltic Sea, which allegedly transported Russian cargo.
The meeting, led by the head of the Maritime Board, was attended by Astrakhan Region Governor Igor Babushkin, representatives of federal ministries and departments, as well as organizations involved in this industry. Nikolai Patrushev assigned them the tasks of modernizing the infrastructure of the seaports of Astrakhan, Olya and Makhachkala, including the construction of new terminal complexes. He stressed that it is also necessary to ensure digitalization and simplify customs and logistics procedures, to maintain the depth level on inland waterways in a normative state.
Astrakhan Seaport
The total cargo flow along the North–South MTK in 2025 amounted to 21 million tons. The dynamics of cargo transportation through the ports of Astrakhan and Olya is also growing: in 2021, the volume was at the level of 2.6 million tons, in 2024 it was already 6.1 million tons, said the governor of the Astrakhan region. According to Igor Babushkin, for efficient navigation, it is necessary to increase the volume of dredging operations and increase the length of the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Channel by 20 km.
The North–South corridor passes through Iran, it connects the Baltic ports of Russia with ports in the Indian Ocean. After the start of the US and Israeli military operation against Iran, maritime navigation in the area ceased to be safe. The route continues to function, but it has lost a lot of predictability, Artem Valeev, General Director of the FCS Group of Companies, told Izvestia.
— It would be wrong to talk about mass disruptions of transportation. More often than not, it's not about cancellations, but about postponements and logistics restructuring. During periods of increased turbulence, about 3-8% of shipments along the corridor face force majeure factors, from insurance problems to port restrictions and increased military risks. Total cancellations, as a rule, do not exceed 1-2%. The main job of logisticians now is to quickly reassemble routes and maintain the movement of goods," the expert emphasized.
According to him, the most affected cargoes in the North–South corridor today are those that require a clear schedule: perishable goods, project and oversized shipments. In fact, the MTK is turning from a stable route into a situational logistics tool with high volatility in terms and cost.
The operation of the North–South corridor will be fully restored if the conflict between the United States and Israel with Iran ends. The first round of negotiations in Islamabad ended in vain, the parties returned to the naval blockade of each other's communications. However, the settlement process continues, and it is possible that representatives of Washington and Tehran will hold a new meeting soon.
Development of shipping in the Caspian Sea
Russia is already actively engaged in strengthening its presence in the Caspian Sea. In addition to the meeting, Nikolai Patrushev visited the Lotos shipyard. The company currently employs almost 500 people. In the future, it is planned to assemble ship modules, including equipping hull sections and superstructures.
However, there are also difficulties: the Lotos plant does not have enough own funds for modernization, and there is no long-term order loading. Nikolai Patrushev called for special attention to be paid to this issue. The well-being of thousands of families depends on the development of these plants.
Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Head of the Maritime Board Nikolai Patroshe during a visit to the Lotos shipyard
In the city of Narimanov, the Chairman of the Maritime Board took part in the ceremony of the start of construction of a plant for the production of ship components. It is planned to launch mass production of units for river and sea vessels, including ice—class ones.
"In order to achieve technological sovereignty in shipbuilding, it is important that the company being created provides a full cycle of engine manufacturing with localization of production of all components and assemblies in Russia, as well as serial production of engines," said the head of the Russian Maritime Board.
At the same time, Astrakhan is not only Russia's main port on the Caspian Sea, but also a "trade gateway" with the countries of the East. Patrushev inspected the berths of the Astrakhan Region's special economic zone. A cargo terminal for container handling, a modern agroterminal for receiving, storing and shipping grain crops, as well as a refrigeration terminal for fruits and vegetables are currently being built there. 2.5 billion rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for the implementation of the project.
Container terminal in the port of Olya, Astrakhan region
On the same day, the Russian presidential aide visited the Olya seaport. In recent years, it has become one of the key transport and logistics hubs on the MTK North-South route, Patrushev emphasized. He met with the management and owners of the cargo terminal, discussing with them the issues of modernization and capacity building of the port.
Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global, told Izvestia that the base scenario for the coming years is a further increase in shipments, but not without disruptions, because bottlenecks in depth, fleet and tariff coordination have not gone away yet. However, solving these problems will open up new prospects for the trans-Caspian trade route.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
