Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
Kazakhstan intends to increase transportation of cargo via sea, said the country’s Minister for Investment and Development Zhenis Kasymbek, presenting the draft law “On ratification of Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation”.
“More than 40 states and, most importantly, practically all countries of the Black Sea and Baltic Sea regions are participants of the protocol. Currently, Kazakh merchant ships are beginning to actively develop sea routes to ports located in the open seas,” said the minister.
Kasymbek noted that about 35,000 tons of general cargo was transported from the Aktau port to the ports of Turkey in 2017.
“Traffic volumes will be increased threefold this year. Meanwhile, it is planned to start transportation of oversized equipment from the Black and Baltic Seas for the construction of Tengizchevroil plant. Moreover, the increase in transportation volumes is facilitated by the agreement reached with Russia within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union on the introduction of a simplified transit order for Kazakh vessels on inland waterways of Russia,” added the minister.
He said that the protocol envisages a number of changes, in particular, an expansion of the list of crimes classified as a terrorist act.
Thus, the document declares the use of a vessel for the purpose of transporting materials in order to commit a terrorist attack, as well as the transportation of terrorists as crime.
The protocol calls on countries to take measures on bringing individuals and legal entities to responsibility for committing terrorist attacks.