The port "Caucasus". Ferry, the port "Caucasus"

The port "Caucasus" has acquired special significance amid the turbulent political events of the beginning of this year. There is reason to believe that after changing the status and the state ownership of the Crimean peninsula, the load on the ferry crossing existing for more than half a century will increase many times.

From the history

The port "Caucasus" was erected in 1953 for the purpose of carrying out freight and passenger transportation to the Crimean peninsula. It is located on the so-called Spit Chushka, a small narrow strip of land in the Kerch Strait. To protect from unrest, the water area of the port was protected by breakwaters. To provide the railway communication, the same station "Kavkaz" was built here. The ferry port of the port "Kavkaz" - the port "Crimea" was planned in such a way that, in addition to the transportation of railway trains, provided the delivery of cars and passengers to the port of the city of Kerch. The port infrastructure provided passenger transportation through the Kerch Strait until the end of the eighties of the last century. The railroads of merchant railroads continued a little longer. Then they were terminated due to the deterioration of ferry facilities. In the future, the port "Caucasus" provided only transportation of passengers and road transport.

Nowadays

The transportation of freight wagons through the Kerch Strait about ten years ago was resumed. This became possible after the receipt of new ferries and the reconstruction of the port infrastructure (2004). And since the summer of 2010, passenger transportation has stabilized. The ferry "Port Kavkaz" - Kerch sea terminal "(route) began to execute three flights a day.

Changing port profile

The economic recovery of the last decade required a significant change in the entire direction of the port, originally built only to provide ferry services. After the modernization, the port "Caucasus" acquired a new status and began to play a significant role in ensuring foreign trade of the Russian Federation. To this end, a number of new terminals and auxiliary structures were built, designed to store and load the products of the chemical and oil refining industry. All this was necessary to ensure export deliveries in accordance with the concluded contracts. But, unfortunately, open storage and transshipment of mineral fertilizers and other bulk cargoes led to a significant deterioration of the environmental situation in the area of the Chushka Spit and in the Kerch Strait water area.

New direction of development

In recent years, besides the traditional direction to Kerch, the port "Caucasus" has become the starting point for two new ferry lines. Since February 2009, the railway ferry to the port "Varna" in Bulgaria has been functioning successfully. It is serviced by modern ferry vessels "Avangard" and "Slavyanin", which are capable of taking about fifty railroad cars of medium size in one flight. The main goods are refined products, liquefied gas and building materials. And from autumn 2011 the ferry line to the Turkish port "Zonguldak" was put into commercial operation. The ferry "ANT-2" in this direction goes once a week and mainly transport vehicles with passengers. This is a convenient way to get to the popular Turkish resorts of the Mediterranean coast for those who do not even want to leave their car even on vacation. Given the popularity of Antalya with Russian tourists, this direction is very promising.

Against the backdrop of the latest events in the spring of 2014

After the transition of the Crimean peninsula to the Russian jurisdiction, the transport communication passing through the port "Kavkaz" has greatly grown in its meaning. The ferry, whose schedule in former years strongly depended on the season, now becomes a strategically important means of communication with the peninsula returning to Russia. The load on the Kerch ferry crossing has greatly increased already at the present time. And it is quite logical to assume that the flow of goods and passengers through it in the short term will only increase. Ultimate workload it will reach at the height of the traditional tourist season. The situation is greatly complicated by the fact that the railway communication through Ukraine in the direction of the Crimea is under big question. With the flow of passengers in the midst of the tourist season, the Kerch crossing may not be able to cope. At present, the issue of launching new ferry facilities from the ports of Anapa and Novorossiysk is being considered. They will be sent, bypassing Kerch, to the ports of Sevastopol, Yalta and Theodosia.

Perspectives of the Kerch crossing

The question of building a bridge connecting the Crimea and the Caucasus was repeatedly raised even in the era of the USSR, but the concrete realization of this intention was not even possible to approach. The bridge across the Kerch Strait is currently under construction. Technically this project is very difficult, it is obliged to provide reliable road and rail communication between the mainland and the peninsula. In addition, unimpeded sea navigation along the Kerch Strait in the direction of the Azov Sea and back should be ensured. The construction of such a complex engineering facility can not be completed in a short period of time. But even after the bridge has been built, the ferry port "Caucasus Port" - the port "Crimea" "will remain the most important transport communication. It has long gone beyond its original design purpose and has become an important link in the foreign trade of the Russian Federation. It is a transport and transshipment center in many schemes of export and import operations. At present, the annual turnover of the port is close to the level of eight million tons. Thus, the port of Caucasus will not lose its importance even after railroads and cars go through the new bridge across the Kerch Strait.