Azerbaijan to build next vessel of Ro-Pax type

Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) and the Baku Shipbuilding Plant have signed a contract for the construction of another Ro-Pax-type ferry vessel.

Mehman Mehdiyev, head of the ASCO press service, told Caliber.Az that the contract was signed by CJSC head Rauf Veliyev and plant director Elshad Nuriyev on December 22.

The new vessel, designed to carry passengers, cars and railway cars, will be of the same type as the already existing ASCO ferries - Azərbaycan (Azerbaijan) and Zərifə Əliyeva (Academician Zarifa Aliyeva).

These unique vessels with 30 permanent crew members measure 154.50 meters in length, 17.7 meters in width, and 7.5 meters in height, with a displacement of 5,740 tons. At the moment, in terms of their carrying capacity, the vessels are larger than other ferries in the Caspian Sea. Each ferry can carry 100 passengers, 56 cisterns, or 50 TIR trucks/trucks.

The new ferry is expected to make a significant contribution to the expanding transportation of transit cargo across the Caspian Sea along the East-West transport corridor.