Landing craft Admiral Nevelskoy to carry passengers to Sakhalin until 31 July (photo)
Large landing ship of the Pacific Fleet "Admiral Nevelskoy" will be plying the route between Port Vanino and Kholmsk until 31 July 2015. the Russian Defense Ministry decided to provide the landing craft support in response to requests of the Khabarovsk Territory authorities to help ease congestion of passengers and vehicles at the ferry crossing to Sakhalin, the regional governor's press office said.
To date the Amdiral Nevelskoy has completed four journeys on the line linking the mainland and the island. The ship can accommodate 190 passengers in one voyage.
There are still at least 1300 passengers in Vanino waiting for embarkation at the ferry terminal, largely fishermen hired by Sakhalin based fishing companies. They all need accommodation, food and medical care, the regional government's ad hoc commission said. The situation is complicated by the fact that every day 100 to 200 new passengers arrive in the village.
The regional officials complained that this congestion occurs regularly in mid-summer season and that Sakhalin Shipping Company does not deploy additional ships in peak seasons and does not offer advance booking. The Khabarovsk Krai government commission has filed a complaint with the Transport Prosecutor's Office to initiate inspection of Sakhalin Shipping Company, the report said.
In addition, the regional authorities had made a request to the Government of the Sakhalin region on the number of fishermen hired by fishing companies. It has turned out that only a thousand of fishermen were officially hired. That means that more than half of them came to Vanino without official invitations.
The Sakhalin region authorities also asked the ferry operator to install additional diesel engines on ferries to increase operational speed of vessels and reduce travel time.
