Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co. expands international presence

The number of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping vessels operating outside the Caspian Sea has now reached 12, with 11 being dry cargo vessels, the company said.    The Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co. says it is expanding its presence in international waters via its dry cargo vessel Gafur Mammadov, which is beginning cargo transportation operations outside the Caspian Sea.
   “The Gafur Mammadov vessel … will contribute to the further strengthening of the position of the shipping company in the market of cargo transportation abroad,” Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co. said in a Nov. 17 statement announcing the move.
   The Gafur Mammadov, which has a deadweight of 5,500 tons, a length of 108.3 meters (355 feet), a width of 16.5 meters (54 feet), and a full-load draft of 4.79 meters (15.7 feet), has been moored at the Port of Taganrog in Russia for carrying out cargo operations and is being moved to Izmir, Turkey, Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co. also revealed.
   Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co. says that the dry cargo vessel, which will float in the basins of the Azov, Black and Mediterranean Seas, will have its operation and maintenance provided by Caspdry, an Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Co. subsidiary in Turkey that was founded in the first quarter of this year specifically for the purpose of the transportation of bulk cargo along the Caspian Sea.
   Out of a total of 59 merchant ships, the number of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping vessels operating outside the Caspian Sea has now reached 12, with 11 being dry cargo vessels and the other a tanker, the company said.