Russia keen on container line with Iran but port tariffs need to be aligned - agency chief

MOSCOW. Nov 24 (Interfax) - Russian and Iranian maritime shipping market participants are looking in detail at creating a maritime container line, Andrei Tarasenko, head of the Russian Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot), told reporters on the sidelines of the Transport of Russia 2025 forum.

He said Russia and Iran had reached specific agreements in November to create a joint maritime consortium to develop shipping between Makhachkala in Dagestan and Iranian ports. The talks also touched on the launch of a regular container line between Makhachkala and Iranian ports.

Tarasenko said tariffs to dock at Russian and Iranian ports currently differed, "so the consortium will calibrate and align tariff policy," he said.

He also said Makhachkala Commercial Sea Port and Iranian shipping company IRISL had discussed launching a container line between the seaports of Makhachkala and Iran.

According to Rosmorrechflot information, shipping along the Russia-Iran-India and Russia-Iran-China routes is set to launch in 2026.

Tarasenko said route planning and economic projections were interlinked. Each stage of the transportation process must be assessed and the profitability all links in the route's chain determined. For example, if shipping transit cargo from the ports of Makhachkala and Olya in the Astrakhan region are unprofitable, then the end-to-end transportation economics must be calculated, reflecting cost of shipping from the Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and regional transport hubs.