Kazakhstan boosts Caspian container traffic, exceeds export targets to China

Kazakhstan has significantly increased container shipments across the Caspian Sea and exceeded planned export volumes to China in 2025, according to state energy company KazMunayGas.

The company’s subsidiary, Kazmortransflot, reported a rise of more than 15% in container traffic last year. Along the feeder route between Aktau and Baku, 59,400 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs) were transported in 2025, up from 51,400 TEUs in 2024.

The growth was attributed to rising demand along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

Between 2005 and 2025, Kazmortransflot calculated that 108 million tonnes of oil were handled across the Caspian Sea. Since 2008, 92 million tonnes were transshipped in open waters.

Kazakhstan’s rail operator, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), said more than 16.1 million tonnes of goods passed through the Altynkol–Khorgos border crossing with China last year.

This exceeded the target agreed under the Organisation for Cooperation of Railways by 9%.

Overall, exports from Kazakhstan to China reached 5.3 million tonnes in 2025, 20% above the planned figure. Container traffic played a key role, with 3,589 trains operating across Europe, Russia, and Central Asia.

KTZ highlighted that meeting the targets ahead of schedule demonstrated the efficiency of the border crossing and reinforced transport cooperation between Kazakhstan and China.

By Aghakazim Guliyev