P&O Maritime Logistics is launching a new inland river route between Caspian ports and DP World Yarimca. The trial voyage was made at the end of last month, the company said.
The new shipping route, called the Turkey – Caspian line, to be jointly launched by P&O Maritime Logistics with the support of DP World Yarimca and several other DP World group companies, will connect Turkey to the Central Asia on a regular basis.
P&O Maritime Logistics expects that the Turkey – Caspian line provides speed and cost advantages, while also reducing carbon emissions by 17% compared to road-based transportation. Efficient door to door delivery will be offered through select third-party logistics partnerships for onward carriage into the landlocked areas of Central Asia.
In 2020, approximately $31.bn 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. In the same year, $17.8 bn of imports and $4.5 bn of exports were made with Russia, one of Turkey’s largest trade partners.
With these markets being some of Turkey’s most important trading partners, P&O Maritime Logistics intends to facilitate even closer trade connections between Turkish businesses and the region through DP World Yarimca with direct shipping via the Russian river systems into Aktau (Kazakhstan) and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) ports in the Caspian Sea.
The new line utilising P&O Maritime Logistics’ Multi Carrying Vessel (MCV) will mainly transport containerised products such as industrial machines, construction materials, textiles, cosmetics, white goods, and marble, while additionally offering a convenient service for breakbulk and project cargo.
According to P&O Maritime Logistics, MCV type vessels are ideally suited to navigate the Russian rivers and the company expects that at least two more vessels will be outfitted and classed for container carriage for the new line’s launch in the coming months.
Kris Adams, CEO of DP World Yarımca, said: “The new Turkey – Caspian line between Turkey and the Caspian Sea makes the movement of goods more streamlined and less costly. With trade booming between these regions, the opening of a new sea route will undoubtedly be a boon to firms operating in these markets.”
Martin Helweg, CEO of P&O Maritime Logistics, added: “There is immense potential for increasing the efficiency of trade between Turkey, Russia and Central Asia. With land transport making up 95% of total carbon emissions for the transport sector, this new river-sea based route is more cost effective and environmentally-friendly than cargo transport. “With this solution we can reduce carbon emissions by 17% or 0.5 tonnes per container, saving the customer on average 10-20% of the cost compared with trucking and bring the cargo to the destination 15% faster compared with rail, enabling our customers a range of benefits.”