In Kyiv they rejoice: they forced Russia to buy new ferries for the Kerch crossing, instead of the old Ukrainian ones
In Kyiv they are happy - they forced Russia to buy a dozen new cargo and passenger ferries to service the Kerch ferry crossing.
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This was stated, in particular, by Andrei Klimenko, an expert at the Maidan of Foreign Affairs Foundation.
According to him, Russia was forced to buy these vessels due to sanctions and the reluctance of the Greek owners to operate under their flags.
“Russia was forced to buy about ten new Greek ferries. They came there under Greek flags and with a Greek crew, but, due to sanctions from the EU, USA and other countries, the Greek shipowners refused to fly their flags. As a result, Russia was forced to incur additional costs of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Klimenko said.
Let us remind you that with the reunification of Crimea and the Russian Federation, the load on the Kerch ferry crossing increased significantly, which is why the old Ukrainian ferries could not cope with passenger traffic. As a result, the republican authorities decided to purchase large cargo and passenger ferries with a large capacity.
“The system should work in such a way that people can cross without waiting in line, or at least the maximum waiting time should not exceed two to three hours,” commented Anatoly Tsurkin, now ex-Minister of Transport of Crimea, on his intentions to purchase ferries.