Marine Engineering Bureau (MEB) and Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ACSC) have set up a joint venture Caspian Marine Engineering Bureau. According to MEB, the documents were signed on 5 December 2016 in Baku by Rauf Veliyev, Chairman of ACSC, and Gennady Yegorov, Director General of MEB.
Oirad Abdullayev, Director General of Design-Research and Scientific-Investigation Institute of Caspian Sea Transport, was appointed the Director of the new company.
Rauf Veliyev says he sees the new company as a state-of-the-art engineering center in the maritime industry, as a highly demanded and long awaited element in the chain Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company – Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Yards of Azerbaijan – Azerbaijan State Marine Academy.
The "Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping" Closed Joint-Stock Company was established by merging country's two largest fleets - the Azerbaijan State Caspian Sea Shipping Company and the Caspian Sea Oil Fleet of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic. The merger took place in accordance with Decree No.6 of the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, dated October 22, 2013, on establishing of the “Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping” Closed Joint-Stock Company and Decree No.213, dated January 10, 2014, on organizing of the work of the “Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping” Closed Joint-Stock Company. Two companies were merged in order to continue fundamental structural reforms in the economy, increase domestic and international transportation in maritime industry, enhance competitiveness and transit potential of Azerbaijan and get synergies from centralized management of the state owned shipping companies.
The Company’s fleet consists of about 300 vessels including 34 tankers, 13 ferries, 14 universal dry-cargo, 2 Ro-Ro ships as well as 35 different auxuliary ships. The offshore supPORT FLEET is comprised of 188 vessels including 21 crane vessels, 22 supply and tug vessels, 29 passenger ships, 2 pipelay barges, 7 firefighting vessels, 5 geological survey vessels, 11 diving support vessels, and 84 other support vessels.