Turkish Truckers Eye Caspian Sea Routes to Avoid Delays in Iran
Turkish carriers plan to cross near 25 thousand vehicles a year over Caspian Sea with ferryboats and Ro Ro ships to avoid delays on the route across Iran.
The use of ferry boats and Ro-Ro ships would cut excursion time significantly, the CEO of Turkey’s International Transporters Association (UND) Fatih Şener quoted as saying in report published in Hurriyet Daily News.
There are plans to carry nearly 25 thousand trucks a year over the Caspian Sea using ferryboats and Ro-Ro ships from the newly constructed Alat port in Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan’s Türkmenbaşı port.
The annual capacity will reach 25 to 30 thousand vehicles a year, when Azerbaijan’s ferryboats and Turkmenistan’s newly purchased Ro-Ro ships come into play.
Transit fees for trucks have recently become a sticking point between Turkey and its neighbor. Recently, Ankara increased transit fees for Iranian trucks when Tehran hiked its own rates for Turkish trucks. Iranian customs also started to delay Turkish trucks, which carry exports to Central Asia.
