During his welcome address, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov stated that the Kavkaz-Samsun railway ferry service had operated efficiently and demonstrated its worth since December 2010. Its cargo capacity exceeded 40,000 tonnes in 2012, a near three-fold increase over the previous year. The capacity will further grow by 2.5 times this year. A service council was also formed to ensure smooth operation. Russian Railways, Turkey’s General Directorate of State Railways, Black Sea Ferry&Invest, the railway ferry line’s operator, and Nakliyat, a Turkish operator working on the Samsun Port have signed the following documents:
- An intergovernmental agreement on mixed international railway ferry service via the ports of Kavkaz and Samsun;
- An agreement on the rules for transporting cargo, carriages and containers thereof;
- A provisional agreement on the transportation and accounting of privately-owned railway cars thereof.
The minister congratulated the ceremony participants and called the opening of the service a symbol of the traditionally strong good-neighbourly relations between Russia and Turkey.
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Mr Sokolov also met with his Turkish counterpart Binali Yildirim. During the meeting, the officials discussed a broad range of transport cooperation issues.
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The Turkish and Russian governments signed an agreement in Ankara on May 12, 2010, on mixed international railway ferry service between the ports of Samsun (Turkey) and Kavkaz (Russia).
The service began operating on December 21, 2010. Its major ports are Kavkaz and Samsun, with Poti (Georgia) also serving as an option. The Ulfat and Feruz ships operate on the line.
The new international corridor has made it possible to deliver cargo from Turkey to Russia and Central Asia and back in the shortest possible time at the lowest cost.
