The Establishment of a Regular Container Line on the INSTC Discussed in Astrakhan

A meeting dedicated to the development of a regular container line along the inland waterway route of the INSTC was held via videoconference at the Management Company of Special Economic Zone Lotus. The event took place with the participation of Vitaly Shchepin, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy of the Astrakhan Region.

The discussion also brought together representatives of the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport, Rosmorport, port, logistics and transport organizations, shipbuilding and shipping companies, leading specialized educational institutions of Russia, as well as specialists from Special Economic Zone Lotus. The meeting was moderated by Oleg Solyakov, Associate Professor of the Department of Water Transport Operations at the Russian University of Transport.

The participants discussed the prospects for increasing cargo transportation along the route, the use of tug-barge combinations, issues related to the modernization of port infrastructure, and the so-called “bottlenecks” of the route hindering the launch of a regular container line.

Vitaly Shchepin noted that the Astrakhan Region has well-developed port infrastructure with a cargo handling capacity exceeding 16 million tons and is interested in the development of new routes and shipping lines.

Academic experts also delivered reports during the meeting. Professor Evgeniy Olkhovik from Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping spoke about the prospects of using the river fleet for cargo transportation across the European part of Russia. Yulia Zvorykina from MGIMO University shared her vision of the cargo base potential along the routes of the INSTC, emphasizing the importance of the Caspian Sea as a key transport hub. Tenants of the Port Special Economic Zone – representatives of Astra LLC, logistics industry experts from Astrakhan and other Russian regions – also shared their views.

The participants noted that despite the existing challenges, the prospects for the route appear promising. A number of plans were presented for the modernization of the port infrastructure, the creation of multimodal logistics centers, and the expansion of cargo handling capacities. Following the meeting, all proposals regarding the operation of a regular container line on the INSTC will be consolidated.