Marina World July August 2023

MARKET UPDATE: CASPIAN SEA
Layout of the Yelken Yacht Club and its
marina in Turkmenistan. The club opened
in 2010 and offers the best infrastructure in
the Caspian Sea.
In need of new marinas
– and new money
Over the past few years, the Caspian Sea – the world’s largest inland body
of water – has seen a lack of investment in yachting infrastructure. There
are various reasons for this, including the administrative pressures of local
authorities and questionable profitability. The low living standards of a large
proportion of the local population also remain the key factor in discouraging
potential investors. Vladislav Vorotikov reports
The construction of a marina in
Aktau, the sea capital of Kazakhstan,
seems to be a never-ending story. The
idea was originally greenlighted by the
Aktau city council in 2007 as part of a
comprehensive yachting infrastructure
development programme in the city.
However, the authorities failed to
find an investor, so the project was
postponed to be revived every two to
three years.
The last time this happened was in
2021 when Nurdaulet Kilybay, mayor
of Aktau, announced plans to build a
marina on the Rocky Path, part of the
coastline within the city’s boundaries.
He estimated that the construction
could complete by 2024 or 2025, but it
is yet to be started, again supposedly
due to a lack of interested investors.
This scenario is typical for the Caspian
Sea where plans to build new sea
infrastructure are so often laid out but
remain only on paper.
Under a Caspian Sea port
development strategy, yachting
infrastructure is due to be built in the
ports of Makhachkala and Derbent in
the Dagestan Republic. However, it is
not clear when this would happen. As of
today, on the 530km (329mi) Dagestan
coastline, not a
single marina
is in operation,
according to Aliyev
Ali Magomedovich,
who, with a group
of enthusiasts,
launched yacht
building in the
republic.
One of three yacht
clubs in Baku,
the capital of
Azerbaijan. Local
investors continue
to mull over plans to
build new marinas.
Yachting in Kazakhstan is also in
embryo, and local analysts argue about
the root cause. Natalia Butyrina, an
Aktau-based journalist writing about
the yachting industry, is confident that
many Aktau citizens are willing to
purchase sailing yachts or motor boats,
but are discouraged by the lack of
infrastructure for mooring their vessels
during the season and the repair
facilities available.
“A growing number of foreign
yachtsmen are also showing interest in
coming to the waters of our region. This
means that there is an increasing need
for modern marinas with good service.
However, there are no yacht ports on
the coast and a few mooring sites for
small vessels that are not included
in the general international tourism
network,” Butyrina admitted.
Last one standing
The cost of building a marina in Aktau is
estimated to be close to US$15 million,
and Butyrina is convinced it would give
powerful impetus to the development of
yachting in this part of the Caspian Sea.
Investors, however, seem not to share
the same confidence, especially since
the city’s only yacht club ‘Breeze’ has
been fighting over the past few years
with the city council for survival. The
council says it wants the plot to build a
new embankment.
During Soviet times, Aktau and other
towns on the Kazakh coast housed
several yacht clubs, but now Breeze
is the last one still in operation. If it is
32 www.marinaworld.com – July/August 2023