Passenger transportation by high-speed catamarans in the Black Sea basin to grow by 20% in 2023
Cruise line between Sochi and Crimea to be launched by Knyaz Vladimir liner in June 2023, First Deputy Transport Minister Andrei Kostyuk said at the meeting with Government members held by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The transcript of the meeting is published on the official website of the Kremlin.
According to Andrei Kostyuk, high-speed ships of Kometa type (Yalta – Sevastopol) and Griphon type (Sochi — Gelendzhik) started operation on May 1. “45 thousand passengers were carried in summer 2022 and we are going to increase the traffic by 20% this year,” said Andrei Kostyuk.
At the meeting with Government members held by Vladimir Putin on 24 January 2023 Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev noted record demand for high-speed vessels and suggested the expansion of state support to construction of passenger catamarans for the Black Sea basin with the allocation of RUB 105 million for that purpose. According to Vitaly Savelyev, there are plans to expand traffic volumes in the Black Sea basin by another 15–20 percent in 2023 to carry about 52,000 passengers.
Regular cruise communication between the Krasnodar Region and Crimea was resumed by Black Sea Cruises in 2017. The company is the owner of the Knyaz Vladimir liner, which was also specially purchased for cruises on this sea line connecting Russian seaports.