KTZ Express Shipping, the marine transportation arm of Kazakhstan's state-owned railway company KTZ, has placed orders for six river-sea capable cargo vessels.
Four of the ships will be built by Jiangsu Haizhongzhou Shipping Industry in China while the remaining two will be constructed by Baku Shipyard in Azerbaijan.
All six vessels will be capable of transporting general and containerised cargo. Their areas of operation will encompass the Black and Caspian Seas and will form part of a shipping route between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
Each ship will have a deadweight of approximately 9,900 and a container capacity of 537 TEUs. The maximum draught will be 5.56 metres when sailing in the open sea and 3.6 metres when navigating in inland waters.
The vessels to be built at Baku Shipyard are expected to be the first in the series to be handed over to KTZ Express. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed within 28 months from the start of construction.