The Russian yard of the Iranian merchant fleet
There is much to write about the northern merchant fleet of Iran, which is called KSSL-Khazar shipping sea lines Co. But I will be focused on what is happening in the past month.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Iran and Russia have teamed up in a number of areas to violate sanctions and benefit both countries. Two weeks ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (“IRISL”) announced it would invest about $10 million dollars in the Russian port of Solyanka. Part of this investment, financed through Russian bank loans, was spent on the purchase of a vessel with a capacity of 270 containers. This amount also included renovation of the wharves and internal roads of the port.
According to a report by the Iranian news agency ILNA, the output of Solyanka port, before the investment of IRISL Group, was 50,000 tons per month, this figure is estimated to increase by 70% and reach 85,000 tons per month after the investments are made.
There is no doubt that this is a huge long-term investment that will affect the economic balance in the entire region.
Iran and Russia also strengthened their cooperation last May with the arrival of a Russian Ro-Ro ship at the port of Noshahr in Iran, KOMP.ELZA IBRAGIMOVA,IMO 8606628, In addition, the two countries' agreement on the construction of a joint shipyard in Russia where Iranian companies will supply ship parts that they produce for shipyards in Russia.
It has already been well documented on my channel that a number of Russian ships arrived for the first time at major trade ports in Iran, ports like Fereydunkenar and Astara (AMUR-2526 IMO 8721521 & MUSA JALIL IMO 8846814 Both on October 2022). And we should not forget the first Russian vessel that was sailing directly from Azov to Iranian ports on 28 September 2022, YORK General Cargo Ship IMO 8935392.
On November 14, 2022, The Jamestown Foundation reported that Russia would further expand its cooperation with Iran by allowing Iranian ships to access the Volga River and Volga-Don Canal. Russian authorities consider this river to be an internal waterway, and due to national security considerations, it has not allowed foreign ships to pass through the Volga and its existing channels.
Allowing Iran access to the Volga provides the shortest navigable connection between the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean, via the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
There is an overwhelming majority of the Iranian merchant fleet in the Port of Astrakhan and this picture nicely represents all the analyses I have done in the last few weeks. The Iranian merchant fleet does not rest for a moment, loads, and goes back to Astrakhan. If two months ago Iranian cargo ships were waiting at the dock before unloading, this is no longer happening in recent weeks, and the situation can be defined as a maritime train that is racing and not stopping.
Another interesting fact that I doubt they have noticed is the arrival of new cargo ships that come mainly from Volgograd and Azov to Astrakhan. Cargo ships have always arrived from Russia to Astrakhan, but in a very small amount, it started 2 weeks ago, on November 15th, and I manage a tracking table for all of them. This is very noticeable and represents the assessments I mentioned at the beginning of the article accurately. I record these arrivals (an important task for port analysis).
Below is the tracking table. It is updated, but the AIS status is dynamic for the time of data entry only. You can follow this thread and get the updated table.
There is huge arrival of Tankers/Tugs as well, but I will focus on Cargo/General Cargo/Oil tankers only. So, if you will follow my thread, you will see that about 32 new vessels are on the way from Azov/Volgograd to Solyanka-Astrakhan, just in 2 weeks.
There are many more arrivals from Russia to Astrakhan, this list includes vessels that have never been to Astrakhan! Tugs/Tankers etc. not included in the list, just Cargo/Oil Tankers from Azov/Volgograd/Samara. Some of them are already on the way to Iran. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
If so, it is possible to clearly understand the situation on the ground, as the estimates predict, there has been an increase in the last few weeks in the number of Iranian ships arriving in Astrakhan and at the same time the arrival of Russian ships to help unload the cargo and transfer it to the interior of Russia. Beyond the economic aspect, it can be concluded from the congestion of the port that one of the reasons for the non-staying of the Iranian ships is congestion in the port, especially in Solyanka. Furthermore, the size of the ships, which ranges from a length of 93 m to one that is 104 m, is indeed suitable for traffic on the Volga River, so we are already seeing on the ground the news that I mentioned at the beginning of the article, the passage of Iranian cargo into Russian territory because these ships were anchored at the Solyanka anchorage, one of the anchorages which are loaded with Iranian ships.
My latest Astrakhan port analysis as of December 02, November 24 & November 29, 2022.
We can see the crowding at the anchorage before going up to Solyanka and the crowding in the corners of the port only increases with the arrival of new tugs/Tankers due arrival of ships from Azov & Volgograd to supply the line:
Comparing the last analysis to the previous dates, you can see the crowding at Solyanka increase, with 2 vessels at one dock. As of December 4th, there was a decrease in the number of ships arriving in Astrakhan from Azov/Volgograd, one of the reasons being the congestion in the port which is only increasing. In any case, we reached 32 vessels already. Some continued on to Iran/Kazakh.
This is the first publication: A new line of cargo ships begins sailing to the port of Solyanka in Astrakhan.
A new fleet of ships originating from the port of Azov went into operation on 22 November 2022, and the first 2 cargo ships left for Solyanka, where they will be stationed, and their main task will be to join the trade fleet in the Caspian Sea. The cargo will be mainly grain and wood. And of course, assisting in the transfer of Iranian cargo from Astrakhan to the interior of Russia via the Volga River. The third ship left Azov on 24 November and more are expected later:
I will also add that we expect the entry of another new shipping company in the Caspian Sea area.
This is the first publication:
If you searched the tracking platforms for the cargo ships ARKANOOR 2 and ARKANOOR 3 and did not find them, I will inform you that starting 2 weeks ago, probably on Wednesday, November 16, their names were changed and from now on they will be called:
SHILAN (Old name ARKANOOR 2)- General Cargo Ship, IMO 8727848
VANDA (Old name ARKANOOR 3)-General Cargo Ship, IMO 8832083
Although according to the Equasis platform they belong to the company:
ARKA NOOR PARS CO
In the management of SEPEHR NOOR MOBIN SHIPPING CO.
But this is not the case with the information that is not yet updated, and, in my opinion, it will take a long time until it is updated. As of last week, these ships are associated with the ADMIRAL GROUP SHIPPING COMPANY which is associated with no less than Ali Shamkhani who founded this shipping company in 2012 as a tribute to his sons who manage it themselves. Shamkhani served as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Navy at the rank of admiral and currently serves as the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The company is managed by his two sons Hassan and Hussein Shamkhani and has an active line mainly in India.
Adding the fact that these ships have recently been sailing with AIS OFF for the last 9 days, we may learn in the future about the nature of the cargo.
As of this writing, SHILAN was spotted OFF at Makhachkala anchor & VANDA was spotted OFF near Baku anchor.
This fleet will soon grow and is supposed to be the second largest fleet in the Caspian Sea with an estimate and forecast of 50-60 vessels in total.
Most of the vessels have already been bought from Russia and after they are upgraded, they will enter operation status.
I will conclude with my point of view:
The Caspian Sea will soon no longer be organic in terms of the fleets sailing in it, this includes the fleet stationed in Astrakhan which has long been non-organic.
There is no doubt that this will have an economic effect for better or worse, and will certainly also affect the balance of arms shipments with the arrival of new ships directly associated with the leadership in Iran (ADMIRAL GROUP SHIPPING COMPANY which is associated with Ali Shamkhani).
There is a saying "The new Middle East" but here we are talking about a "New Caspian Sea" and even a "New Astrakhan" and at this rate, we can even say "The new Black Sea" very soon…
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December 2022
Cover photo credit: Yandex