The Balkan Shipbuilding and Repair Plant is planning to build two ro-ro ferries to carry railway wagons and one dry cargo vessel. Draft designs of ships and their characteristics for consideration by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov were presented today at a government meeting by the Director General of the Transport and Communications Agency under the Cabinet of Ministers Mammetkhan Chakiyev, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reports. According to Chakiev, the construction of these ferries is provided with an open deck, which meets the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for the transportation of certain types of dangerous goods on the open deck of the vessel. At the same time, it will be possible to transport freight wagons with food, building materials, agricultural and other products on the lower decks. Regarding the technical characteristics of the dry cargo ship, it was reported that its carrying capacity is 5100 tons.After listening to the report, the President of Turkmenistan noted that this is a very popular type of transport for long-distance transportation, and this also opens up great opportunities for transit.
Berdimuhamedov instructed to continue to make every effort in this direction, including in the training of relevant personnel, operators, and specialized specialists. Recall that the new seaport, as well as the Balkan shipbuilding plant in the city of Turkmenbashi, were put into operation in May 2018. As it was reported then, the capacity of the plant allows building 4-6 ships and processing 10,000 tons of steel per year.