Kazakhstan–Azerbaijan: roughly three ferries — not enough for OOG growth

In an AzerNews exclusive on 8 September 2026, Rustem Bissaliyev (Founder and General Director, TransCaspian Cargo) put the fleet bottleneck in numbers: roughly three ferries currently operate between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. With Middle Corridor volumes rising, that is “not enough today.”

He tied the squeeze both to falling Caspian levels (especially for oversized and heavy cargo on the western Kazakhstan–Azerbaijan leg) and to insufficient vessels/equipment for growing demand. Dredging with Azerbaijan is underway; construction at an Azerbaijan shipyard could add vessels later — “not enough today, but capacity can grow.”

For project cargo / OOG: do not plan only from trailer slot and permit date. Budget ferry-queue buffer and possible draft limits. Three ferries on the whole KZ–AZ leg is an operational risk for long OOG that cannot jump to another sailing overnight.