TEHRAN - Iran is exploring the Caspian Sea as an alternative route for exporting oil and importing essential goods, allowing the country to avoid the impact of a maritime blockade.
Tehran is looking for alternative access to international markets, with the Caspian Sea on Iran’s northern coast emerging as one potential route, Al Jazeera reported.
Iran has changed its logistics routes from the Indian Ocean to transport corridors running through Russia and the Caspian Sea.
The Caspian route could provide Tehran with an additional channel for maintaining trade with countries to its north and beyond as disruptions continue in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
More than 30 per cent of all imports entering Iran now pass through the country’s northern ports. These shipments mainly consist of agricultural products.
The U.S. sanctions and the maritime blockade had not caused shortages of goods on the domestic market, and the rerouted supply chains have helped maintain stable imports.
last year, Iranian and Russian transport officials had agreed to form a joint port and maritime consortium that will coordinate shipping, port management, and logistics between their ports.
The goal of the consortium is to move more goods, faster, and to connect that traffic with broader trade routes stretching to India, Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf.
The two sides planned to raise annual cargo volumes across the Caspian to more than five million tonnes in the coming years. The project builds on the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-kilometer network linking the Indian Ocean to northern Europe through Iran and Russia.
Among the chain of ports along this corridor, Iran’s Caspian Port in Anzali Free Zone stands out as a critical node. With modern quays and sufficient depth despite the Caspian’s receding waters, it is viewed as a gateway linking Iran’s southern ports on the Persian Gulf to Russia’s transport network.
Western sanctions on Moscow have made this connection even more important, turning Iran into a logistical lifeline for Russian trade with Asia.