Transit of cargo from Russia to India launched through Astrakhan region

The first shipment of freight containers was sent in pilot transit from Russia to India via the Astrakhan region along the "North-South" international transport corridor. This was reported to TASS by the region's Ministry of External Affairs.

"The state-owned Iranian shipping company Irisl has announced a pilot transit of cargo from Russia to India via the "North-South" international transport corridor, which passes through the Astrakhan region and further across the Caspian Sea to Iran," it said in a statement.

It is noted that the first batch of three forty-foot containers of lumber and flat-rolled aluminium was delivered by rail from St Petersburg to the "Astrakhan Port" PJSC. From there, the Kasma dry cargo ship of "Khazar Sea Shipping Lines" sailed across the Caspian Sea to Iran.

Previously cargo shipments to Southeast Asia via the Caspian region were sporadic, now an Iranian shipping company has set up a pilot mechanism for transit of containers from Russia to India using just one shipping document for the entire route.

This has reportedly been made possible as a result of the cooperation of Iranian shipping companies operating in the Caspian and Indian destinations.

Speaking about the advantages of the new transit corridor, Darius Jamali, the head of the investment project of "Astrakhan Port" PJSC, said that it would reduce transportation costs, shorten the storage time for containers and increase the speed of cargo delivery.

An intergovernmental agreement on the creation of a multimodal transport corridor "North-South" was signed by Russia, India and Iran in 2000. Later, the number of participants expanded to 14. The project now brings together several different transport systems from individual states.

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