Baku International Sea Trade Port

The Port of Baku is the oldest and largest port on the Caspian Sea. For centuries, Port of Baku served as a link between East and West, alongside the ancient Silk Road, as well as North-South transport corridor that connects North Europe and Russia with Middle East and South Asia.

Baku International Sea Trade Port

The passenger terminal
Location
Country Azerbaijan
Location Baku
Coordinates 40°14′03″N 49°31′32″E / 40.2343°N 49.5256°E / 40.2343; 49.5256
Details
Opened 1902
Owned by Azerbaijani government
Available berths 6 (Main cargo terminal)
Statistics
Annual cargo tonnage Increase 25 million tons
Annual container volume Steady 15,000 TEU
Value of cargo 8 million tons
Website
portofbaku.com

History

In the middle of the fifteenth century, a new trade route was explored between Volga-Don and the Caspian Sea trade route that connected Eastern Europe and India. This stipulates the importance of today’s Port of Baku in Caspian trade, as well as a major centre in wider international maritime trade. Official references to Port of Baku date back to 1564, although maritime trade had been one of the city’s major activities in previous centuries. In 1564, by a decree of Safavid Emperor Shah Tahmasp I, Sheikh Zahid was appointed as the First Minister of Port of Baku.

On 17 September 1854, by a decree of Russian Emperor Nicholas I, Port of Baku was restructured into a military maritime port. From that time onwards, Port of Baku started to function not only as a trade port, but also as a military centre to protect the sea borders from outside influence. Starting from 1858, ships from the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Empire were based in Port of Baku. The depth of coastal waters, favourable weather conditions and nearby oilfields made its location the most preferable as a navy base.

Construction of the modern Port of Baku started in the mid-nineteenth century under the Russian Empire, and it was officially inaugurated as a self-governing port on 21 July 1902. It was among the world’s leading ports and the largest of the Russian Empire in terms of cargo and passenger traffic. Various types of dry cargo such as cotton, fruit and sugar, were among some of the main trade goods at Port of Baku and other ports on the Caspian Sea such as Astrakhan, Krasnovodsk (today’s Turkmenbashi), Petrovsk (today’s Makhachkala) and Iranian ports. Already by 1900, annual cargo traffic had reached 6.5 million tonnes (around 400 million Russian ‘poods’) and the port served a total of 157,779 passengers in 1912. The Russian Empire also took advantage of the transit potential of Port of Baku with around 38.1 million ‘poods’ passing through Port of Baku as cargo in transit.

In June to August 1920, as a result of an oil boom, a lot of construction in Port of Baku was carried out to provide safe passage for oil tankers. In 1923 to 1924, trade through Port of Baku comprised 27.3% of the total for cargo in the whole of the Soviet Union. This made Port of Baku the leading port of the Soviet Union.

Port of Baku also took an active part in protecting state borders in the Second World War. Large amount of cargo was handled in Port of Baku within a very short period of time in order to reach the frontlines in time. In three months in 1942, the amount of cargo grew more than twice from 187,200 to 445,800 tonnes.

After the Second World War, extensive construction work had to be done to restore the former state of Port of Baku. In 1963, a new ferry terminal was commissioned, followed by the construction of a dedicated berth for passenger services. In 1972, a new passenger terminal building was also completed.

After gaining independence, the Republic of Azerbaijan established close economic relations with neighbouring countries. In 1998, Baku city held an international conference on the ‘Historic Silk Road’ in order to revive this ancient trade route and create the foundations for further processes of integration with the countries involved.

President Ilham Aliyev has determined that a major state policy goal should be to use the transit potential of the country, pointing to Port of Baku as a key strategic project in the diversification of the economy that will become a main non-oil sector project generating the second greatest share of budget revenues. On 18 March 2015, the Port of Baku was restructured by a decree of President Ilham Aliyev and became a close joint stock company (CJSC).

Terminals

The port consists of the Main Cargo Terminal, Dubendy Oil Terminal, Ferry Terminal, and Passenger Terminal. Its throughput capacity has been constantly growing and is now 15 million tons of liquid bulk and 10 million tons of dry cargoes.

The main cargo terminal has 6 berths of total length of 866 meters. They are equipped with 16 portal cranes with lifting capacity up to 40 tons. 8 kilometers of stub railways ensure timely handling of cargo. The container terminal handles 15,000 containers annually. The ferry and passenger terminal provides transport for passengers travelling or shipping items to Turkmenbashi, Aktau, Oily Rocks and Iranian ports. There are about 20 vessels belonging to the port fleet.

According to the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the ‘Construction of New Baku International Sea Trade Port Complex’ signed on March 18, 2007 the existing sea trade port will be demolished completely after the construction of a new port complex in Alyat settlement, 65 km south of Baku. The new port will provide general cargo and passenger terminals, cargo handling and Ro/Ro facilities, rail ferry terminal connecting the ports of Aktau and Turkmenbashi as well as International Logistics Centre. The foundation of the new port complex was laid down in November 2010.

The New Port at Alyat

An advantageous location

The New Port at Alyat is a transportation hub linking the west (Turkey & EU), south (Iran & India) and north (Russia). Situated in the vicinity of the regions of Azerbaijan, it will also increase its connectivity as an efficient hub and so increase the volume of cargo being handled. In addition, new port location is linked to existing highways and railways, connecting the port to the inland regions of the country.

There are three international rail routes into Azerbaijan, which all converge at Alyat:

• To the northwest, passing through Baku to Russia

• To the west, passing through Georgia to the shores of the Black Sea and Turkey.

• To the south and to the border area with Iran.

Phase One

The New Port will be capable of serving 150 – 160 metre-long, 10,000 tonne capacity ferries and all other types of vessels serving the Caspian Sea. The location enables a modular expansion of all the facilities for different cargo segments (rail ferry, general cargo, container and bulk) once cargo turnover increases.

Phase One of the new port in Alyat comprises a ferry terminal, a general cargo berth, a Ro-Ro berth, a service berth, railway lines, various administrative buildings, a customs holding area, an open storage yard, warehouses, a container yard, rail and road access to berths, a Ro-Ro ramp, a passenger service building, a heavy lift landing area and a truck amenities area.

Project completion dates for Phase One have been divided into three stages. The first stage—the Ferry (Rail) Terminal—was completed in September 2014; the second stage—the Ro-Ro Berth—will be completed in 2016; and the remaining works in 2017. 60% of the overall work for Phase One has already been completed.

The lengths of the quays are as follows:

The berths are all dredged to -7 m Caspian datum.

All direct transit rail transshipments between Azerbaijan and Europe or Central Asia (onto China and the rest of Asia) are via this Ferry (Rail) Terminal. Currently, if containers are transported to their final destination on a rail platform (without being unloaded and loaded onto a container vessel) they are transferred directly onto a rail platform and use the Ferry Terminal in the New Port. If they are unloaded from a rail platform and then loaded onto a dedicated container vessel, then they come to the old port in downtown Baku. With the completion of Phase One, all such intermodal operations will be done in the New Port of Baku at Alyat.

The completion of Phase One will also see an overall cargo throughput at the New Port at Alyat of 10–11.5 million tonnes of general cargo and 40,000–50,000 TEU in containers.

Phase Two and Phase Three

The expansion of the New Port is linked to the increased flow in potential cargo and on the speed of growth of the various business segments. In other words, the decision on when to start the construction of Phase Two and Phase Three will depend on existing cargo volumes. In general, these next phases are likely to follow the PPP (or BOT) type of partnership model, whereby a private party will likely invest, construct and operate these expansions.

The forecasts for the three phases are as follows:

Phase One: 10–11.5 million tons of general cargo + 40,000–50,000 TEU;

Phase Two: 17 million tons of general cargo + 150,000 TEU;

Phase Three: 21–25 million tons of general cargo + up to 1 million TEU.

Free Trade Zone

Unlike Azerbaijan’s border and inland dry ports, the new Free Trade Zone will play a pivotal role in international multimodal transportation and the Eurasian supply chain via Azerbaijan. A strong domestic and regional logistics network and logistics market would provide a solid foundation for the Alyat project. The port will act as a major logistics hub in the Caspian region, serving both European and Asian markets, as well as being part of an extensive international logistics network linking Europe and Asia. Free Trade Zone includes several components, such as Truck Parking, International Logistics Centre and Domestic Logistic Centre, as part of a special economic regime. FTZ will be located within the grounds of the new port, covering an area of 100 hectares. Since the new port is being built at the major railway juncture connecting the North-South and the East-West railway lines in Azerbaijan, FTZ will also have rail access. Serving as a multimodal transit logistics hub, the new port and FTZ will become a major consolidation and distribution centre in Central Eurasia that provides a wide range of value added services. In other words, instead of becoming one node in the supply chain, Alyat ILC aims to become the major consolidation, concentration and distribution centre of the region, serving the multi-dimensional markets of the South Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Southern Russia, and Turkey. Moreover, seeking to become the largest logistics zone in the Caspian region, FTZ will offer comprehensive logistics services to its residents and international clients, serving as a major regional intermodal distribution hub. Taking into account that many manufacturers now prefer to put the final touches onto their products at the distribution centres, such as FTZ’s nearby consumer markets, the provision of value added logistics services at the FTZ becomes an even more compelling prospect. This would not only generate significant non-oil trade for Baku Port at Alyat and Azerbaijan, but would establish it as a regional logistics leader with all three main services of import/export, transit shipment and logistics.

Green Port

We develop Port of Baku as a world class Green Port and logistics centre, using the latest innovative Environmental practices. These developments will include the following key areas: energy, waste management, water and air quality, as well as sustainable business practices. Green ports and logistics are areas in which activities can reduce the environmental and energy footprint of freight distribution, including material management (storage and packing), waste management and physical distribution. The benefits of the project will include greater operational and cost efficiency, environmental improvements (reductions in water and air pollutants such as greenhouse gases) for users of the port and will likely translate to increased demand for Port of Baku’s services.

The New Port at Alyat is designed to achieve the status of Green Port by employing various efficient technologies to reduce its carbon footprint, and will have a programme to reduce waste from port operations through material reuse, recycling and composting. It will be designed to allow the management, treatment and disposal of all wastes generated during the port’s operations. Appropriate waste treatment plants and equipment will be installed at the port site.

Green zones will be created to the north and west of the port, along the coastline and around the switchyard. These zones will enable soil enrichment and the moderationof the microclimate in the area resulting in a more positive impact on the surrounding semi-desert landscape. Rainwater drained from the roofs of buildings will be used to develop and water the aesthetic landscape.

In the long-term,a Green Port programme will be developed to achieve continuous environmental, social and economic benefits through resource conservation, waste reduction and pollution prevention. This will consist of the following components:

Component One: Green Planning and Strategy

This will contribute to the development of capacity to identify, prioritise and plan for the implementation of efficient green measures for the port and for other modes of freight transport through Azerbaijan. This component will have a comprehensive approach, covering the full range of underlying port and logistics activities, including shipping, trucking, railways, warehouses, refrigeration, packaging, cargo handling equipment, small harbour craft, employee vehicles, buildings and purchased electricity.

Component Two: Promoting Low-Carbon Activities

This will work with Port of Baku authorities to implement the Green Development and Logistics Strategy and a range of green investments in the port and logistics activities. It will also provide incentives for various users of the port to minimise carbon footprints from their operations.

Component Three: National Environment and Replication Policy

Lessons learnt from the project’s activities in Port of Baku will be incorporated and replicated elsewhere in the country. This component will also work with national authorities to prepare and facilitate their adoption and application in relevant national policies.

Picture gallery

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Port of Baku.

References

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