BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 15. The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line Group (IRISL) transited 3,000 tons of cargo and 114 TEU of containers within the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) for 2 months of the current Iranian year (May 22 through July 22, 2022), Trend reports citing the group’s website.
According to report, the corridor allows IRISL Group to reduce the time required for cargo transit by two-thirds of the normal time.
Within the INSTC, cargo transported from Central Asian countries to Iranian ports via the Caspian Sea are transported by road or rail to the southern ports of Iran and then delivered to East Asian countries and vice versa.
Currently, cargo transit and transportation through the Black Sea and Suez Canal is carried out within 45-60 days. However, within the North-South Corridor, the time stands at 14-15 days.
The International North-South Transport Corridor was created on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000.
In total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to North and West Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via North-South Transport Corridor.