Regular Maritime Service Proposed Between Turkmenbashi and Alat Ports
Amul Info · · turkmenbasy, balkan
To increase freight volumes along the Middle Corridor, a proposal has been made to establish regular feeder services between Turkmenbashi Port in Turkmenistan and Alat Port in Azerbaijan. The initiative also includes a proposed container terminal at Turkmenbashi. These measures could strengthen…
To increase freight volumes along the Middle Corridor, a regular feeder shipping service has been proposed between Turkmenistan’s Turkmenbashi seaport and Azerbaijan’s Alat port. The initiative aims to expand the region’s transport and logistics capacity and promote international trade links.
According to the Report news agency, the proposal was put forward by Elmir Poladov, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Freight Forwarders Association and Chief Executive Officer of U.F.E. Shipping, during the 2026 Business Forum between the European Union and Azerbaijan.
Poladov noted that Turkmenistan has considerable potential for developing the Middle Corridor and that the Turkmenbashi seaport is equipped with the necessary infrastructure. In his view, the port could provide favourable conditions for transporting container cargo from China to Azerbaijan.
In this regard, the proposal includes constructing a container terminal at Turkmenbashi port and establishing a regular feeder service with Alat port. Such a service would enable cargo to be transported regularly by sea between the two ports.
According to the World Bank, the annual capacity of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport stands at 17 million tonnes of cargo and 400,000 containers.
The container terminal at Alat port currently has an annual capacity of 150,000 TEU, equivalent to twenty-foot containers. Citing Khudayar Hasanov, a representative of the Baku International Sea Trade Port, Report states that the terminal’s capacity is expected to increase to 500,000 TEU per year following the completion of the second phase of construction.
Establishing a regular maritime service between Turkmenbashi and Alat could improve the efficiency of the Middle Corridor, facilitate container freight transport and strengthen transport and logistics links between Asia and Europe.