Maritime Transport and Ports
MARINE TRANSPORT
Marine transport plays a critical role in Azerbaijan's transit infrastructure, leveraging its strategic position along the Caspian Sea to enhance regional and global connectivity. The country's coastline supports major ports like Baku and Alat, serving as vital hubs for international trade and transit. These ports facilitate the efficient movement of goods, including oil and gas products, dry bulk commodities, and containerized cargo, connecting Azerbaijan to global markets via maritime routes. Marine transport also plays a key role in integrating Azerbaijan into international transit corridors, such as the East-West and North-South transport corridors, by providing cost-effective and reliable transport options.
THE PORT OF BAKU
The Port of Baku, located on the ancient Silk Road connecting Europe and Asia, is a prime transport and logistics hub of Eurasia. It covers an area of 400 hectares. Being an important segment of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, the Port of Baku with its modern operating system provides prompt cargo services, as well as has at its disposal open and covered storage facilities designed for all types of cargo. It is located 70 km from the capital Baku, at the junction of the main railways and highways of Azerbaijan and has 13 berths, including a Ro-Ro, a ferry terminal and a general cargo terminal. Its capacity is 15 million tons of cargo and 100,000 TEU equivalent containers. A project for the new stage of port construction is also being developed, after the implementation of which its annual throughput capacity will be increased to 25 million tons and 500,000 TEU containers.
Port has 2 terminals:
- Ferry Termınal
Loading capacity: 6.2 million tons per year
Wagons entering the port by rail from the ferry (train-carrying ferry) terminal and adjacent bridges are placed directly on the ferry. Wagons are classified as Ro-Ro cargo that is transferred from one vehicle (locomotive) to another (vessel) without the need for unloading equipment. This process is carried out on two ferry bridges, each with a lifting bridge directly connected to the railway lines. In this terminal, along with passengers, trucks, passenger cars and etc. intermodal transport units except for vehicles can be loaded on to the vessels.
- Main Cargo Termınal
Loading capacity: 7 million tons per year
The infrastracture of the terminal includes 7 general cargo bridges, one of which is on solid ground, designed for loading and unloading heavy cargo. 4 of the bridges are equipped with railway tracks and 6 new portal cranes of various specifications and 2 modernized mobile cranes. Here, loads transported in multiple unified containers (including those placed in containers) and loads in the form of piles can be loaded and unloaded from diferent means of transport (ship, wagon, trucks).
Port of Baku was awarded the “Eco Ports” (Green Port) certificate of the European Sea Ports Organization, and in 2021 it successfully passed re-certification. In addition, in 2022, it joined the UN Global Compact. Thus, the strategic activity of the port is aimed to contribute to 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Port of Baku has access to four main international railways: the railway from Baku to the south of Russia and extending to the northwest; the railway extending to the west, from Georgia to the Black Sea and the coast of Turkey (Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway); a railway extending to the south-west, to Iran and then to Turkey; and the railway running south to Astara on Azerbaijan's border with Iran.
Port of Baku, located at a strategic crossroads of the main North-South and East-West transport corridors, provides access to the main road networks of the country. The Baku-Alat-Ganja-Gazakh-Georgia border (M2 highway), which is part of the Azerbaijani segment of the TRACECA corridor, the Baku-Guba-Russia border (M1 highway) and the Baku-Astara-Iran border (M3 highway), which form the Azerbaijani segments of the North-South corridor), including all major road routes of Azerbaijan, intersect at Alat.
On February 25, 2025, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, the “Baku International Sea Trade Port” Closed Joint Stock Company was reorganized through its merger with the “Azerbaijan Railways” Closed Joint Stock Company. This reorganization is intended to integrate railway and maritime transport operations and to enhance the efficiency of logistics management.
For more information visit: https://portofbaku.com/en
AZERBAIJAN CASPIAN SHIPPING CLOSED JOINT-STOCK COMPANY (ASCO)
ASCO is comprised of offshore support and merchant fleets and two shipyards.
The merchant fleet consists of 52 vessels: 21 tankers, 13 ferries, 14 universal dry cargo, 2 Ro-Ro ships, and 2 Ro-Pax ships.
The offshore support fleet is comprised of 192 vessels: 20 crane vessels, 20 supply and tug vessels, 23 passenger ships, 2 pipelay barges, 5 firefighting vessels, 5 geological survey vessels, 9 diving support vessels, and 108 other support vessels.
In 2023 4.9 million tons cargo transported via tanker, 749 thousand tons via dry cargo vessels. 37462 railway wagons and 35207 trucks (TIRs) were transported.
ASCO plays a connecting role in the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA), providing marine transportation of goods and passengers along with the Trans-Caspian Sea as well as provides offshore support services for oil and gas operations.
For more information visit: https://www.asco.az/en
