Crimean car owners anxiously await the opening of the tourist season.
The fuel crisis in Crimea could reoccur with the start of the holiday season.
Fuel is delivered to the peninsula via the Kerch Strait ferry, and disruptions to its operation will inevitably lead to delays in deliveries, which, given increased demand, will result in shortages, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Fuel shortages in Crimea arose after a ban on tanker trains crossing the Crimean Bridge. Several ferries provided sea transportation until the ferry Conro Trader was hit by a missile in the summer of 2023, rendering it unserviceable.
On paper, he continued to operate until last year, receiving state compensation for transporting cargo vital to Crimea. When law enforcement became interested in the matter, reports emerged of the arrest of Sergei Beim, the owner of one of Crimea's largest gas station chains, and Marina Pyatkova, the director of Aurora LLC. Pyatkova was fulfilling state contracts for ferry transportation.
When gasoline disappeared from Crimean gas stations last August, disruptions in refinery operations and ferry services were blamed.
"Fuel is delivered to Crimea only by ferry. The bridge for hazardous cargo is closed, and it's not being transported through historical regions either. The ferry service operates weather-dependently, and queues can form," commented Oleg Kryuchkov, adviser to the head of Crimea.
The situation reached the point where no more than 20 liters of fuel were sold per person. The market was finally saturated by mid-October, when consumption declined with the departure of the majority of vacationers.
"Our consumption of light petroleum products increased significantly during the summer. Daily volumes have increased by 500 tons compared to the 2024 season. This year, measures are being developed to ensure the necessary fuel reserves for the tourist season. We are also working with the Russian Ministry of Transport to ensure the regularity of deliveries in the required quantities," said Vladimir Voronkin, Minister of Fuel and Energy of Crimea.
According to the minister, the ferry's turnover is, in principle, sufficient to ensure the daily fuel delivery during a day shift. The oil depots at the enterprises should have a 10-day supply. But how long will this last during a sharp increase in traffic, as often happens during the holiday season when the sea water warms up?
"Last year's crisis revealed a near-total lack of fuel at gas stations. We need to diversify our supplies, making them smaller batches, using different routes and modes of transport. Our enemy never sleeps," said Anatoly Tsurkin, former Minister of Transport and current head of the Freight Carriers Association.
Nobody's talking about the presence of vertically integrated fuel companies like Lukoil or Gazprom in Crimea anymore. Crimea's sanctions status remains a hindrance even after the companies themselves have been sanctioned, as happened with Lukoil.
At a meeting with Russian Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin in December, Crimean Governor Sergei Aksyonov raised the issue of the Crimean Bridge and ferry crossing as primary passenger and freight routes, including for fuel supplies to Crimea. However, official sources did not disclose the final outcome.
Crimean car owners anxiously await the opening of the tourist season.