Transloading and transit via the Caspian Sea is one of the key routes for cargo to be delivered into the CIS region, however the operations are usually plagued with long waiting times and delays. Mostly recently though, New Silk Road Network’s member At-Abray / Turkmenline, managed a very quick and smooth turnaround, where they delivered some raw material for oil drilling from China to the Ashgabat region.

The goods arrived from the Far East on the 9th Feb 2022 in Poti Port, after the customs clearance was completed the next day, the first transloading took place on the 11th Feb, where Turkmenline unloaded and stuffed the cargo from the carriers’ containers into their own SOC containers and loaded them onto the railway. As Turkmenline have over 1000 containers available in the region, they are able to support all multimodal activities.

(Pic Credit: Turkmenline)

The train departed Poti Station on the 14th of February and arrived after 6 days in Alat Port, Baku. In the circumstance that this would be a block shipment, Turkmenline would usually utilize their own vessel where the waiting time is only 2 days. In this specific case, as it was only a handful of containers, they waited 4 days for the next vessel's departure. Transit from Alat to Turkmenbashi Port took 2 days, which is standard for Caspian Sea conditions. After arrival in Turkmenbashi, the goods were directly delivered the next day to the final destination in Lebap, just outside of Ashgabat. Currently, due to Covid-19 regulations, foreign drivers are not allowed in Turkmenistan. However, the Turkmenline team pointed out that, in general, delivery to any point in Turkmenistan can be completed via rail or road within two days.