Iran starts pilot transit between Russia and India through INSTC

The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL) has accommodated a pilot transit of cargo between Russia and India via a major international corridor that passes through Iran.

An Iranian official based in Russia's Astrakhan said on Monday that the cargo that contained two 40-foot containers of wood products has started its journey from Russia’s Saint Petersburg and will unload at India’s Nhava Sheva port within less than 25 days. 

Dariush Jamali, who leads an Iranian-Russian port in Astrakhan, said the Russian cargo will travel through the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) by arriving in the Caspian port of Anzali in Iran and passing through the southern port of Bandar Abbas to Nhava Sheva.

Jamali said it is the first time a cargo travels between Russia and India through Iran and the INSTC with a single through bill of lading (TBL) document which allows the transportation of goods both within domestic borders and through international shipment.

He said IRISL’s regional bureau in Russia and its subsidiary firms in India have accommodated the pilot transit of cargo.

Iran hopes it can benefit from a growing trade between Russia and India that has been caused by the war in Ukraine and the subsequent Western sanctions on Moscow.

Iranian officials say integrated transportation of cargo from Russia and Belarus to India will boost shipments through the INSTC and will increase Iran’s transit revenues.

Experts say the completion of two missing rail links along the INSTC route in the Iranian territory will hugely boost transit through the corridor within the next few years.

MG