ST. PETERSBURG, April 1. /TASS/. Marine transportation between Iran and Russia over the Caspian Sea may grow exponentially in the near time because of the changes in Middle East logistics, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Dmitry Zverev said at the International Transport and Logistical Forum.

About 7.2 mln metric tons of goods were transported along the sea route between Russia and Iran, Zverev said. "Considering the changed logistics of the past month, we await exponential growth of transportation on account of grain cargoes, metals, lumber and many other goods. The ports of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Caspian Sea and the ports of the Russian Federation, Astrakhan and Makhachkala, are prepared for that as well," Zverev said.

The memorandum signed last November on creation of a consortium of shipping and port companies of Russia and Iran has already proved its practical efficiency in this area, he added.

TASS is the general information partner of the forum.