Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 1
By Matanat Nasibova – Trend:
Russia and Azerbaijan are increasing joint efforts to develop maritime tourism in the Caspian Sea, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov told Trend.
He said the parties intend to establish cruise trips between the Caspian littoral states and for this purpose two vessels are being built in Russia’s Astrakhan region.
"It is necessary to provide all the Caspian littoral states with the appropriate infrastructure, so that in the future maritime tourism becomes one of the important areas," he noted. "Our countries are actively increasing cooperation in many areas of economy and trade, in humanitarian cooperation, and are also reliable strategic partners in the region. I believe the friendly ties between the states will strengthen and deepen in the coming years."
At the 5th Caspian Summit held Aug. 12, 2018 in Aktau, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that "Peter The Great" cruise ship is being built in Russia, which will be able to perform all-round cruises across the Caspian Sea to all the five Caspian states.
Two types of cruises are planned – short (7-8 days) and long (13-14 days) cruises. The short ones will call to several ports in the northern and southern parts of the Caspian Sea, while long cruises will call to the ports of all five coastal states.
The commissioning of the ship is scheduled for the next year approximately.
Most of the Caspian cruises are planned to begin and end in Baku. In the future, "Peter the Great" will also take cruises connecting the Caspian, Azov and Black seas.