Andrey Tarasenko, Head of the Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport, and Sergey Pylin, General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport”, made a working visit to the Republic of Dagestan. The heads of Rosmorrechflot and FSUE “Rosmorport” held a number of meetings where they discussed the prospects for the development of the seaport of Makhachkala and cruise service in the region.

During a meeting with Sergey Melikov, Head of the Republic of Dagestan, Andrey Tarasenko presented a plan for the development of marine cruise tourism in the Caspian basin of the Russian Federation.

A tour of the Caspian Sea is being worked out as a pilot cruise route, with calls at the following ports of the Caspian states: Astrakhan, Makhachkala, Derbent (Russia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Bandar-e Anzali, Nowshahr, Tabriz (Iran), Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan), Aktau (Kazakhstan).

The list of ports for ship calls, as well as the order in which they are visited can be changed, including adjusted depending on the season. The favorable duration of such a cruise can be up to 12 days.

The possibility of putting modern, comfortable luxury liners designed to accommodate and serve from 170 to 300 tourists on cruise lines in the Caspian Sea is being discussed. The region hasn’t seen cruise vessels of such class before.

General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport” noted that two new vessels were expected to be delivered to Russian river cruise operators in 2025, their characteristics allowing them to sail in marine areas, in particular the Caspian Sea.

In order to implement plans to launch a cruise service in the Caspian Sea, creating the necessary port infrastructure for receiving and servicing cruise vessels in the seaports of Makhachkala and Derbent, the following issues are being worked out: opening of multilateral passenger checkpoints across the state border of the Russian Federation, reaching of agreements with the Caspian states on the recognition of ship documents issued in accordance with Russian legislation, and visa-free regime for citizens of foreign countries arriving at the seaports of the countries onboard cruise vessels.

Head of FSUE “Rosmorport” reported to Head of the Republic of Dagestan on the planned measures aimed at the development of the seaport of Makhachkala and ensuring the safety of navigation which will contribute to increasing cargo turnover and capacity of the seaport to 11 million tons by 2030.

Sergey Pylin noted that special attention was paid to the development of the seaport of Makhachkala under the federal project “Development of the Core Network of Seaports”. The seaport of Makhachkala is one of Russia's largest ports in the Caspian Sea basin. Its capacity amounted to 8.3 million tons at the beginning of 2024. Within the tasks outlined by President of Russia and the Government of Russia for the development of the North–South international transport corridor (ITC), a number of measures are planned for FSUE “Rosmorport” aimed at ensuring the safety of navigation, the development of the seaport and, as a result, increasing its capacity, as well as expanding the range of cargo base.

“In the area of the dry cargo harbour, major repair of two berths of the ferry crossing is planned for 2025-2026. The berths are designed for handling ferries, as well as transshipment of general and bulk cargo. By 2028, it is planned to complete work on the extension of the southern pier and the construction of a complex of facilities for moorage and maintenance of the service and auxiliary fleet. During the same period, it is planned to complete the creation of an artificial land plot, on which a warehouse, household premises, repair shops will be located,” Sergey Pylin stressed.

Issues of developing sea routes by improving port infrastructure and maintaining the necessary depths in the waters of ports and on approaches to them were also discussed by the heads of Rosmorrechflot and FSUE “Rosmorport” during a working meeting with the staff of the FSUE “Rosmorport” Makhachkala Branch featuring Fikret Ismayilov, Director of the branch, and Olga Kartashova, director of the Caspian Institute of Maritime and River Transport named after Admiral General F.M. Apraksin — branch of the Volga State University of Water Transport. Special attention was paid to the consideration of issues related to the provision of pilotage services by the Makhachkala Branch and the operation of vessel traffic systems (VTS) to ensure the safety of navigation.

Sergey Pylin spoke about the activities of FSUE “Rosmorport” within the tasks outlined by the President of Russia and the Government of Russia for the development of the North–South ITC, as well as for increasing the capacity of cargo transshipment.

General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport” also noted that the seaport of Makhachkala was one of the key hubs of the North–South ITC. The decrease in the level of the Caspian Sea is one of the difficulties in the development of the transport corridor. To date, FSUE “Rosmorport” has provided a 4.5 m draught at the Volga-Caspian Sea Shipping Canal, one of the key links of the transport corridor. Currently, work is continuing to maintain the depths on the canal.

Olga Kartashova reported on the progress of training specialists with relevant maritime education. The staff shortage in the region has become an urgent issue, in particular, due to the need to develop the North–South ITC.

At the end of the meeting, Andrey Tarasenko expressed gratitude to the staff of the Makhachkala Branch for their effective work this year, and also wished new successes in the coming year.

The day before, during the first day of his working visit to the Republic of Dagestan, Sergey Pylin held a working meeting with Alexey Alekseev, Deputy Head of the Department — Head of the Coast Guard Department of the Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan. The meeting was devoted to current issues of interaction in terms of information exchange through the VTS, assistance in achieving and maintaining specified depths on approach canals and at the locations of border patrol ships in the seaport of Makhachkala.

For reference:

The seaport of Makhachkala is a large Russian port of the Caspian basin. The port's capacity at the beginning of 2024 amounted to 8.3 million tons, including 6.5 million tons for bulk cargo and 1.8 million tons for dry cargo. The volume of transshipment for 10 months of 2024 amounted to 2.7 million tons.