Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony to commission the “Balakan” and “Barda” ferries of the Caspian State Shipping Company

President Ilham Aliyev has attended a ceremony to commission the “Balakan” and “Barda” ferries of the Caspian State Shipping Company.

The creation of an up-to-date transport infrastructure through the expansion of the country’s transit capacity further strengthens Azerbaijan’s regional positions. The development of all types of transport, including maritime, is always in the focus of the President’s attention. The commissioning of the “Balakan” and “Barda” ferries of the Caspian State Shipping Company is critical to expanding the capacity of the country’s freight traffic.

Captain Rasim Nazarov reported to President Ilham Aliyev on the readiness of the ferries for operation.

The head of state examined the “Balakan” ferry.

The Chief of Caspian State Shipping Company, Aydin Bashirov, informed President Aliyev about the efforts being made to update the company’s fleet. It was noted that the ready-to-use ferries were built on the basis of an agreement with the Croatian shipyard Uljanik signed in May last year. The load capacity of the ferries is 54 cars, their length is 155 meters, width 18 meters and keel depth 4.5 meters. The ferries comply with the requirements of international conventions. They can carry multiple types of petroleum products at a time. By linking into the Eurasian transport corridor, the ferries will supplement Azerbaijan’s transport fleet.

Thanks to the attention and care of President Ilham Aliyev, who attaches great importance to the development of maritime transport, the shipping company’s fleet has been replenished by 10 tankers and four ferries in recent years. Together with the “Barda” and “Balakan” ferries, the number of new vessels has reached 16. One of the main goals of the commissioning of these vessels is to ensure timely delivery of cargo, to be transported by the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, to the opposite shore of the Caspian Sea and back. The construction of the railway is scheduled for completion in the near future.

After reviewing the technical parameters and capacities of the vessel, President Ilham Aliyev commissioned it.