Aktau port, Maritime transport hub in Aktau, Kazakhstan

Aktau port is a maritime facility on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea with multiple berths designed for different cargo types and transport vessels. The facility features specialized equipment and deep-water docks that handle containers, bulk materials, and roll-on-roll-off services.

The port was established in 1963 as part of Soviet industrialization efforts to support uranium mining and regional maritime trade. This founding shaped Aktau's economic development from the start.

The port links Kazakhstan to neighboring Caspian nations and enables trade between communities across Central Asia. For the city of Aktau, it is a place where international business connections become visible in daily operations.

Aktau port is a working cargo terminal, not a tourist site, so there is no general visitor access to the berths and operational areas. The port operates around the clock, year-round, and the water does not freeze in winter. Because the Caspian level is falling, constant dredging keeps the channels navigable; views of the harbour are from the city waterfront and the surrounding shore.

In May 2005 the port hosted the presentation of Astana, Kazakhstan's first tanker, displacing 12,000 tonnes, attended by President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In November 2023 it received two new oil tankers, Taraz and Liwa, each with a deadweight of 8,000 tonnes, used to ship Tengiz and Kashagan crude across the Caspian to Azerbaijan and on through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.