Azerbaijan's state shipping company purchased 10 tankers since 2002
By Aynur Jafarova
Azerbaijan State Caspian Shipping Company has purchased 10 tankers since 2002, head of the company Aydin Bashirov said in an interview posted on the website of the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party on July 2.
Notably, the company purchased two tankers with deadweight of 8,000 tons, seven tankers with deadweight of 13,000 tons and one tanker with deadweight of 12,000 tons.
The company also acquired one cargo ship during this period, Bashirov said.
In 2008-2012, the company received six ferries for operation. All the ferries were built in the Uljanik shipyard of Croatia's Pula city, according to Bashirov.
In January 2013 Bashirov said that the state shipping company intends to place orders for new ships at a new shipyard in Azerbaijan.
According to him, the shipyard has already been provided with orders for a five-year period.
To date, all the shipbuilding orders for the shipping company have been placed at shipyards abroad.
In March 2013, the shipbuilding plant was put into operation. The area of the new plant is 880,000 square meters, while the closed production area -- 75,000 square meters and the length of berths 1,300 meters. Investment in the construction of the plant amounts to $450 million.
The plant's production capacity is 25,000 tons of steel per year. It is capable of producing annually four tankers with deadweight of 15,000 tons or two tankers with deadweight of 70,000 tons. Also, the plant is to produce four maintenance and towing vessels per year as well as provide repair for 80 to 100 vessels.
The activity of Azerbaijan State Caspian Shipping Company includes the transportation of cargo, in particular, petroleum and petroleum products. Areas of navigation are the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Meditterranean and the Sea of Marmara.
The consignments delivered to the Caspian Sea from the ports of the Baltic and Black Sea and Mediterranean basins through the Volga-Baltic waterway and the Volga-Don canal are sent to Iranian ports without unloading.
The ships of the Caspian Shipping Company operating in the Black Sea-Azov basin carry out the transportation of cargo of foreign freighters to the ports of Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa.
The Caspian Shipping Company gained prestigious prizes in 1997 and 1998, such as EURO MARKET AWARD and MANAGEMENT REWARD, which were founded by a Belgian royal decree in 1992.
Currently the structure of the transport fleet of the Caspian
Shipping Company includes 82 vessels, including 43 tankers and 39
dry-