In the 2025 navigation season, the company "Vodohod" will launch two new cruise routes on the White and Caspian Seas aboard the new "Nikolay Zharkov" sea-class liner. The tour operator is also developing international cruise routes on the Caspian Sea with stops in the ports of Aktau, Turkmenbashi, Baku, and Bender-Enzeli. This was reported by portnews, citing the words of the general director of "Vodohod," Rishat Bagautdinov.

In 2025, the "Nikolay Zharkov" vessel will operate several routes on the Black Sea and will make its first call to the Caspian. "Vodohod" is working on the possibility of the first international cruise on the Caspian Sea, which will connect five countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. The company is considering stops in the ports of Makhachkala, Aktau, Turkmenbashi, Baku, and Bender-Enzeli.

Organizing ship calls at international ports on the Caspian Sea will be possible upon signing intergovernmental agreements with the Caspian states.

"We are working on the possibility of ship calls together with the Russian Ministry of Transport. This will require all of us to collaborate, as the conclusion of agreements is a lengthy process. It is necessary to ensure the possibility of visa-free entry for cruise tourists at the legislative level in these countries, as was done in St. Petersburg," Rishat Bagautdinov said, according to the source.

In the future, "Vodohod" plans to distribute the operations of three new liners from the "Karelia" project across three seas — the White, Black, and Caspian Seas.