ASTANA — Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the country’s state railway operator, is launching its own maritime fleet to strengthen the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor, with contracts signed to build six cargo vessels.
KTZ plans to expand its maritime fleet with six cargo vessels. Photo credit: Shutterstock The initiative aims to improve logistics capacity and integration across the Caspian and Black Sea corridors, reported KTZ press service on April 30. Through its subsidiary KTZ Express Shipping, the company signed contracts for six universal dry cargo container ships.
Four vessels will be built by Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry Co., Ltd., and two will be constructed at the Baku Shipyard. The project is designed to create a stable maritime component within the TITR, which has gained importance as an alternative route linking Asia and Europe amid shifting global trade patterns.
The vessels will be built in a river-sea class, which operates in both inland waterways and open-sea conditions. Each ship will have a deadweight capacity of up to 9,900 tons and a container capacity of up to 537 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), making them suitable for cargo flows across the Caspian and Black Sea regions.
These specifications are intended to ensure seamless integration of maritime transport into the TITR’s broader multimodal logistics chain, reducing bottlenecks and improving cargo-handling efficiency along the route. The ships will be equipped with modern navigation and control systems in line with international safety and environmental requirements, including standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL).
Classification and certification will be provided by Bureau Veritas, ensuring compliance with global maritime standards. This is expected to enhance operational safety, reliability and environmental performance, increase confidence among international cargo operators and expand the vessels’ usability across global routes.