
The Kerch Strait ferry line (russian: Керченская паромная переправа (also, переправа «Крым — Кавказ»), uk, Керченська поромна переправа) was a
ferry connection across the
Strait of Kerch
The Kerch Strait, uk, Керченська протока, crh, Keriç boğazı, ady, Хы ТӀуалэ is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west f ...
that connected the
Crimean Peninsula
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and
Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part o ...
.
The ferry ran across the narrowest part of the strait (about 5 km) between
Port Krym (harbour Crimea) by the city of
Kerch
Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of ...
and
Port Kavkaz (harbour Caucasus) on the
Chushka Spit
__NOTOC__
The Chushka Spit (russian: Коса Чушка) is a sandy spit in the northern part of the Strait of Kerch which extends from Cape Achilleion to the south-west in the direction of the Black Sea for almost . Administratively, it belongs ...
, on the site of the former
Kerch railway bridge
The Kerch railway bridge ( rus, Керченский железнодорожный мост), also called the Kerch Bridge (russian: Керченский мост), was a short-lived Soviet Russian railway bridge across the Kerch Strait, which c ...
. It carried passengers, automotive and railroad transport. The ferry was on the
European route E97
European route E 97 is an A-class European Route in Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, and Turkey. The highway runs for in total. It connects the North Black Sea region with the South Black Sea region along the eastern shores of the sea.
Route des ...
and connected its parts,
А290 (formerly M25) and
М-17 highways.
After the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, ferry traffic peaked, but as the
Crimean Bridge
The Crimean Bridge ( rus, Крымский мост, r=Krymskiy most, p=ˈkrɨmskʲij most), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning t ...
across the strait opened in 2018–2020, it overtook the traffic flow from the ferry, rendering its usage for transportation financially unfeasible, and the ferry line stopped operations in late 2020.
History
The ferry line was established in 1954, on the site of the former
Kerch railway bridge
The Kerch railway bridge ( rus, Керченский железнодорожный мост), also called the Kerch Bridge (russian: Керченский мост), was a short-lived Soviet Russian railway bridge across the Kerch Strait, which c ...
. From 1993 to 2004 railroad transportation was suspended due to replacement of aged train-ferries.
Since the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was administered by
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
through the joint venture “Crimea-Kuban Crossing”. In 1998, this company was reorganized into a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise, "Kerch Strait ferry line". On 17 March 2014, during the
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia ...
, the company was nationalised by the
Republic of Crimea
The Republic of Crimea, translit. ''Respublika Krym'' ; uk, Республіка Крим, translit. ''Respublika Krym'' ; crh, , is an unrecognized federal subject ( republic) of Russia, located in the Crimean Peninsula. Its territory co ...
, and had been since administered by Russia only.
The use of the ferry rose sharply after the annexation, and in June 2015, the ferry operator considered a daily passenger count of 11,000 normal.
The 2018 opening of the road section of the new
Crimean Bridge
The Crimean Bridge ( rus, Крымский мост, r=Krymskiy most, p=ˈkrɨmskʲij most), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning t ...
, crossing the strait about 10 km further south, greatly reduced demand for the ferry. In November 2019, it was announced that passenger and freight ferries had ceased operation, as the service was not breaking even.
While occasional ferries were still used for rail freight transportation, the opening of the rail bridge across the strait overtook that last remaining traffic, and at the end of September 2020 the ferry operator AnRussTrans ceased operating the rail ferry line, with the last sailing taking place on 28 September 2020. AnRussTrans had also kept the ''Nikolay Aksenenko'' passenger ferry on stand-by until then.
On 8 October 2022, following the
Crimean Bridge explosion, Russia restarted operation of the ferry line using 'Kerch-2 ferry'.
Gallery
Image:Kerch Ferry Yeysk.jpg, Yeysk car-ferry
Image:Kerch AnnenkovKrym.jpg, Annenkov train-ferry
See also
*
Kerch–Yenikale Canal
Kerch–Yenikale canal ( uk, Керч-Єнікальський канал, russian: Керчь-Еникальский канал) is a maritime shipping canal in the Kerch Strait. It connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
History
The canal ...
References
Ferries of Ukraine
Ferry transport in Russia
Transport in Ukraine
Transport in Crimea
Kerch Strait
Transport in Krasnodar Krai
1954 establishments in the Soviet Union
Transport in the Soviet Union
2020 disestablishments in Ukraine
2020 disestablishments in Russia
Sanctioned due to Russo-Ukrainian War
{{Russia-transport-stub