Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASTANA2317
2008-11-24 10:36:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Astana
Cable title:
KAZAKHSTAN'S NATIONAL SHIPPING COMPANY OPTIMISTIC
how-toVZCZCXRO7855 RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHTA #2317/01 3291036 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 241036Z NOV 08 FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3921 INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 0839 RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUCNCLS/SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0238 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0948 RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 0321 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 0406 RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002317
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON EINV EPET EWWT AJ KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN'S NATIONAL SHIPPING COMPANY OPTIMISTIC
ABOUT THE KAZAKHSTAN CASPIAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
REF: A. ASTANA 2266
B. ASTANA 2276
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002317
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON EINV EPET EWWT AJ KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN'S NATIONAL SHIPPING COMPANY OPTIMISTIC
ABOUT THE KAZAKHSTAN CASPIAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
REF: A. ASTANA 2266
B. ASTANA 2276
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.
2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 6, DCM and poloff met with
Kazakhstan,s National Shipping company, Kazmortransflot
(KMTF),to discuss its business structure and operations.
KMTF identified the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System
(KCTS) as its top priority and is leading the development of
Kuryk port, but faces problems acquiring enough ships and
qualified personnel. KMTF is actively participating in
international maritime cooperation activities. END SUMMARY.
FULL STEAM AHEAD ON THE KCTS
3. (SBU) On November 6, DCM and poloff met with Managing
Director Serik Ishmanov, Managing Director of Economics and
Finance Aslan Mynbayev, and Deputy General Director Sherkhan
Sugurbekov to discuss KMTF,s business outlook. KMTF
officials emphasized that KCTS is their company,s major
near-term project. According to Mynbayev, KMTF started
transporting Tengiz oil to Baku in October in close
cooperation with Tengizchevroil (reftels). KMTF anticipates
that large amounts of oil will be transported over the
Caspian from Kuryk and the Eskene-Kuryk pipeline. The most
challenging aspect of KCTS, according to Mynbayev, will be
resolving the legal and regulatory basis for the project,
since each party to the agreement will be liable for its own
operators. The specific liabilities of shippers also need to
be clearly stipulated, he said.
KMTF PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN KURYK PORT
4. (SBU) KMTF officials acknowledged their company,s active
role in KCTS, as well as in constructing and operating the
Kuryk port, located 47 miles from Aktau. The Kazakhstan
national rail company, Temir Zholy, and the Ministry of
Transport are constructing a rail link between Aktau and
Kuryk, while road and water pipelines are also under
construction. The port has a cargo terminal, primarily to
serve the needs of Caspian offshore oil fields.
Transshipments through Aktau port for 2008 (year to date
through September) amounted to 7.7 million tons of cargo,
including 6.1 million tons of oil and petrochemicals. By
2010 transshipments through Aktau seaport are expected to
increase to 23 million tons. KMTF also expects to ship 7.5
million tons of oil from Kuryk in its first year of
operation, with exports of oil from Kuryk expected to
increase to 20 million tons between 2010 and 2015.
EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL ARE MOST SEVERE CONSTRAINTS
5. (SBU) KMTF, however, faces challenges recruiting enough
qualified personnel and acquiring enough ships to meet
demand. KMTF said it owns smaller tankers with a capacity of
12,000 deadweight tons, but decided it will be more efficient
to use larger tankers with a capacity of 55,000-60,000
deadweight tons. KMTF,s top priority will be the quality
and safety of these ships, but because KMTF is a national
company, the ships must be built in Kazakhstan. KMTF expect
Russian companies to build the ships at Kuryk, if government
financing for a planned factory materializes. KMTF will soon
begin negotiations on how other KCTS-related facilities will
be built and maintained. KMTF officials emphasized that the
Samruk-Kazyna merger has not affected their business in any
way.
6. (SBU) To address the problem of hiring qualified
personnel, KMTF started sending young cadets to the Russian
Federation for maritime-related training last year. There is
also one Kazakhstani student at the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis. Mynbayev has an MBA degree from Boston College.
All three KMTF officials at the November 6 meeting pursued
ASTANA 00002317 002 OF 002
higher education abroad and appeared to be in their early
thirties. They noted that since Kazakhstan &is not a sea
empire,8 the majority of qualified employees are relatively
young.
KMTF PURSUING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES
7. (SBU) KMTF is actively involved in various international
negotiations on maritime issues with multinational companies,
and is also participating in a series of U.K. maritime safety
conferences. At the October conference in Astana, Sugurbekov
said that Kazakhstan and KMTF are committed to meeting all
International Maritime Organization standards. KMTF is
particularly interested in cooperation with border services.
Reducing the time for documentation validation and processing
through ports could save millions of dollars, according to
Sugurbekov. KMTF is also concerned about the potential for
oil spills, and wants to work on prevention and emergency
response operations. KMTF officials indicated interest in
participating in study-group activities in the United States
and were eager to exchange ideas and opinions with
international and domestic shipping companies, port
officials, and maritime border guards.
HOAGLAND
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON EINV EPET EWWT AJ KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN'S NATIONAL SHIPPING COMPANY OPTIMISTIC
ABOUT THE KAZAKHSTAN CASPIAN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
REF: A. ASTANA 2266
B. ASTANA 2276
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.
2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 6, DCM and poloff met with
Kazakhstan,s National Shipping company, Kazmortransflot
(KMTF),to discuss its business structure and operations.
KMTF identified the Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System
(KCTS) as its top priority and is leading the development of
Kuryk port, but faces problems acquiring enough ships and
qualified personnel. KMTF is actively participating in
international maritime cooperation activities. END SUMMARY.
FULL STEAM AHEAD ON THE KCTS
3. (SBU) On November 6, DCM and poloff met with Managing
Director Serik Ishmanov, Managing Director of Economics and
Finance Aslan Mynbayev, and Deputy General Director Sherkhan
Sugurbekov to discuss KMTF,s business outlook. KMTF
officials emphasized that KCTS is their company,s major
near-term project. According to Mynbayev, KMTF started
transporting Tengiz oil to Baku in October in close
cooperation with Tengizchevroil (reftels). KMTF anticipates
that large amounts of oil will be transported over the
Caspian from Kuryk and the Eskene-Kuryk pipeline. The most
challenging aspect of KCTS, according to Mynbayev, will be
resolving the legal and regulatory basis for the project,
since each party to the agreement will be liable for its own
operators. The specific liabilities of shippers also need to
be clearly stipulated, he said.
KMTF PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN KURYK PORT
4. (SBU) KMTF officials acknowledged their company,s active
role in KCTS, as well as in constructing and operating the
Kuryk port, located 47 miles from Aktau. The Kazakhstan
national rail company, Temir Zholy, and the Ministry of
Transport are constructing a rail link between Aktau and
Kuryk, while road and water pipelines are also under
construction. The port has a cargo terminal, primarily to
serve the needs of Caspian offshore oil fields.
Transshipments through Aktau port for 2008 (year to date
through September) amounted to 7.7 million tons of cargo,
including 6.1 million tons of oil and petrochemicals. By
2010 transshipments through Aktau seaport are expected to
increase to 23 million tons. KMTF also expects to ship 7.5
million tons of oil from Kuryk in its first year of
operation, with exports of oil from Kuryk expected to
increase to 20 million tons between 2010 and 2015.
EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL ARE MOST SEVERE CONSTRAINTS
5. (SBU) KMTF, however, faces challenges recruiting enough
qualified personnel and acquiring enough ships to meet
demand. KMTF said it owns smaller tankers with a capacity of
12,000 deadweight tons, but decided it will be more efficient
to use larger tankers with a capacity of 55,000-60,000
deadweight tons. KMTF,s top priority will be the quality
and safety of these ships, but because KMTF is a national
company, the ships must be built in Kazakhstan. KMTF expect
Russian companies to build the ships at Kuryk, if government
financing for a planned factory materializes. KMTF will soon
begin negotiations on how other KCTS-related facilities will
be built and maintained. KMTF officials emphasized that the
Samruk-Kazyna merger has not affected their business in any
way.
6. (SBU) To address the problem of hiring qualified
personnel, KMTF started sending young cadets to the Russian
Federation for maritime-related training last year. There is
also one Kazakhstani student at the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis. Mynbayev has an MBA degree from Boston College.
All three KMTF officials at the November 6 meeting pursued
ASTANA 00002317 002 OF 002
higher education abroad and appeared to be in their early
thirties. They noted that since Kazakhstan &is not a sea
empire,8 the majority of qualified employees are relatively
young.
KMTF PURSUING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES
7. (SBU) KMTF is actively involved in various international
negotiations on maritime issues with multinational companies,
and is also participating in a series of U.K. maritime safety
conferences. At the October conference in Astana, Sugurbekov
said that Kazakhstan and KMTF are committed to meeting all
International Maritime Organization standards. KMTF is
particularly interested in cooperation with border services.
Reducing the time for documentation validation and processing
through ports could save millions of dollars, according to
Sugurbekov. KMTF is also concerned about the potential for
oil spills, and wants to work on prevention and emergency
response operations. KMTF officials indicated interest in
participating in study-group activities in the United States
and were eager to exchange ideas and opinions with
international and domestic shipping companies, port
officials, and maritime border guards.
HOAGLAND