On August 31, 2023, the President of Turkmenistan signed the Decree aimed at further development of the country’s National Merchant Fleet. According to the Decree, it is planned to build two dry cargo ships at the “Balkan” shipbuilding and repairing yard.

Today, “Balkan”, “Makhtumguly” and “Turkmenistan” dry cargo ships of the national merchant fleet provide services for transporting of products of our country to foreign ports. Dry cargo is mainly transported between the port of Turkmenbashi and the ports of Baku, Astrakhan, Aktau. In addition, container feeder transportation is carried out on the dry cargo ship “Balkan” along the Turkmenbashi – Baku – Turkmenbashi route. In 2022, the seaport of Turkmenbashi served 684 dry cargo ships, 80% of which belonged to foreign ships, and 20% belonged to our national fleet.

As it is known, today the Caspian region is actively engaged in international maritime transportation, which involves more than 15 dry cargo ships from neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan, as well as dozens of ships from the Russian Federation. At the moment, there are 3 bulk carriers in our merchant fleet. Based on the aforesaid, it can be noted that at present there is a high demand for dry cargo ships with a carrying capacity of 5000-6000 tons.

In accordance with the Program for the Development of Transport and Communications for the period 2019-2025, it is planned to build dry cargo and other ships for the “Turkmendenizderyayollary” agency. In order to implement shipbuilding projects, negotiations are underway between the shipbuilding and repairing yard "Balkan" and the leading companies of the Republic of Korea, which will supply equipment and materials for shipbuilding and carry out technical control during the construction of ships.

The further development of the National merchant fleet demonstrates the country's commitment to actively participating in the global economy and providing reliable trade routes for the import and export of goods. The project to build two dry cargo ships at the Balkan shipbuilding and repairing yard becomes a key step in achieving this goal in the country's heavy industry.