2024-02-28 20:45:52
Source: International Information Agency Trend
The private Azerbaijani company “The Azerbaijan Maritime Engineering & Construction LLC” (AMEC), which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2024, expects to increase its contract portfolio taking into account the rapid development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITM, or Middle Corridor) and the expected growth in cargo transportation .
As Day.Az reports, founder and head of AMEC Rashad Shakarov said this in an exclusive interview with Trend.
“In 2014, we became the first Azerbaijani maritime consulting and engineering company, and since then, public and private companies operating in Azerbaijan trust us to carry out inspections of ships and offshore structures of various types, engineering work on them (design, construction and modification, assembly – dismantling of ships, calculations of their stability on the water), as well as search and delivery of popular specialized ships to Baku,” he said.
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In fact, “AMEC” is the only purely Azerbaijani company in this service market and it is a worthy competitor to specialized foreign companies, as evidenced by the completion of a number of works for “BOS Shelf”, the operating company “JOCAP” (delivery of a barge for work on the first stage of the development of the Caspian gas condensate Absheron field), Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO).
Ship Inspection
“I worked at bp, and even then I had the idea of creating an Azerbaijani maritime consulting and engineering company. Having established AMEC in 2014, until 2017 I studied in more depth the system of functioning of this industry in the UAE. And since 2017, we have professionally and regularly We carry out inspections of ships (the condition of the vessel, its compliance with all international safety standards) and any offshore structures upon request from companies and organizations operating in the Caspian Sea,” Shakarov said.
Engineering work
Engineering work is the main source of AMEC’s income, and the company has carried out relevant contracts both in Azerbaijan and abroad.
In Azerbaijan, for example, AMEC reactivated the helipad on the flagship crane vessel Azerbaijan as part of its modernization.
The portfolio of completed projects includes modification of anchor vessels, tugboats, a threefold increase in the carrying capacity of the dry cargo ship “Four Wind” and others.
On the west coast of India, for the famous Indian energy company “Ratna MOPU”, an Azerbaijani company carried out work on a mobile offshore production drilling rig (design). There were also orders in the Middle East.
Logistics Park
“Since we are closely involved in various types of offshore work, we also conduct marketing research on the issue of what sea vessels both AMEC itself and Azerbaijan need to increase the efficiency of work in the Caspian Sea,” Shakarov noted.
According to him, on AMEC’s balance sheet, in addition to two barges and trucks, there is a specialized dredging vessel (dredger), which the company acquired in 2023 and which is currently based in the port of Aktau awaiting orders in the Caspian Sea.
“In 2024, we want to increase our fleet by purchasing vessels for transporting goods, as well as a fleet of vehicles in Azerbaijan for delivering goods to customers,” said the head of the company.
In his opinion, ASCO and Azerbaijani ports need to acquire a significant number of large modern dredgers, since the Caspian Sea is shallowing, and the issue of work in water areas to deepen the bottom to accommodate various types of vessels in order to ensure the transportation and transit of goods is urgent.
“Azerbaijani ports on the Caspian Sea should be able to receive more cargo ships and ensure their full loading. This will increase Azerbaijan’s cargo turnover and the country’s income. But for this, the port waters require deepening and expanding channels for servicing ships. Wide and deep channels in the ports will allow receiving more ships, which will have a positive impact on the development of the economy of Azerbaijan. The issue of dredging the Caspian seabed must be resolved promptly. It is possible that in 2024 there will be dredging in the port of Alyat,” Shakarov noted.
In his opinion, Azerbaijan also needs additional modern crane vessels and auxiliary barges.
“Many ASCO ships are outdated, prompt renewal of the fleet is required. Azerbaijan is a node, a “cross point” on the route of transporting goods from Asia to Europe and back, and the fleet must correspond,” Shakarov believes.
Azerbaijan as a transport hub
AMEC is interested in the intensive development of Azerbaijan as a major transport hub. “Azerbaijan plays a key role in the Middle Corridor and other trade and transport projects, and it must be an effective hub. To do this, many procedural and logistical issues need to be thought through and resolved. There is a need for a larger number of logistics parks, enlargement of terminals for receiving and storing cargo, simplification customs procedures and permitting systems for cargo carriers,” the head of AMEC shared his opinion.
According to him, the company is trying to interact with all transport, logistics and forwarding companies operating in the region, as it is interested in increasing the role of Azerbaijan as an important transport hub.
“In communicating with foreign partners, we try to talk more about the transit and logistics potential of Azerbaijan, and we are ready to facilitate this,” said the head of AMEC.
It should be noted that Rashad Shakarov recently headed the board of directors of the Caspian Energy Club in the UK.
He will moderate the important Caspian Energy Club event on logistics and investment, which will be held on March 21 in Rotterdam (Netherlands).
This conference will be devoted to the prospects for the development of the Middle Corridor and the transport and logistics industry of Azerbaijan and the Caspian region.
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