Azerbaijan, Baku / corr. Trend S.Aliyev / The Azerbaijan state Caspian Shipping Company CASPAR reported that Russia would be providing them with a permit to access their interior waters by the end of April. The navigation period began on 31 March.
Russia has been sent a draft schedule of the vessels and CASPAR hopes to receive a permit to access all dry cargoes, numbering 28 in total. However, the final number permitted will be at Russia's discretion.
At present the authorizing process for travel via Russian interior waters remains unchanged. A vessel may only enter the Caspian Sea and return to the Black Sea at one given time. To overcome this issue, it is necessary to apply for changes to the Russian legislation.
In 2006 CASPAR obtained 25 authorizations for 14 vessels to pass via Russia's internal waters. From these authorizations, 11 were to enter and 14 were to exit from the Caspian Sea.
However, despite these authorizations, Azerbaijan hopes to conclude a long-term agreement for the passage of vessels through Russia's internal waters, which calls for a revision of the current legislation of the Russian Federation.
At present the passage of Azerbaijani vessels through Russia's waters costs $20,000 - $25,000, realizing a large profit to Russia's channel services. Russian vessels only pay $5,000-$6,000 for similar operations. Therefore Azerbaijani vessels utilizing Russia's internal waters are of great benefit to Russia.