The Kavkaz port acquired special significance against the background of turbulent political events at the beginning of this year. There is reason to believe that after changing the status and nationality of the Crimean Peninsula, the load on the ferry crossing existing here for more than half a century will increase many times over.
From the history
The port "Kavkaz" was built in 1953 in order to carry out freight and passenger transportation to the Crimean peninsula. It is located on the so-called Spit Chushka, a small narrow strip of land in the Kerch Strait. To protect against unrest, the port was surrounded by breakwaters. To provide railway communication, the Kavkaz station of the same name was built here. The ferry port “Kavkaz” - port “Crimea” was planned in such a way that, in addition to transporting trains, it ensured the delivery of cars and passengers to the port of Kerch. Port infrastructure provided passenger traffic through the Kerch Strait until the end of the eighties of the last century. Crossings of freight trains continued a little longer. Then they were discontinued due to the deterioration of ferry facilities. In the future, the port "Kavkaz" provided only the transportation of passengers and vehicles.
Nowadays
Transportation of freight cars through the Kerch Strait resumed about ten years ago. This became possible after the commissioning of new ferries and the reconstruction of port infrastructure (2004). And since the summer of 2010, passenger traffic has stabilized. The ferry "Port" Kavkaz "- Kerch Marine Station" (route) began to operate three flights a day.
Change Port Profile
The economic recovery of the last decade has required a significant change in the entire direction of the port, originally built only to provide ferry services. After the modernization, the port "Kavkaz" acquired a new status and began to play a significant role in ensuring foreign trade of the Russian Federation. To do this, it was necessary to build a number of new terminals and auxiliary structures designed for storage and loading of products of the chemical and oil refining industries. All this was necessary to ensure export deliveries according to the concluded contracts. But, unfortunately, the open storage and transshipment of mineral fertilizers and other bulk cargoes led to a significant deterioration of the environmental situation in the area of Chushka Spit and in the water area of the Kerch Strait.
New direction of development
In recent years, in addition to the traditional direction to Kerch, the Kavkaz port has become the starting point for two new ferry lines. Since February 2009, a railway ferry service to the port of Varna in Bulgaria has been successfully operating. It is served by the modern ferry vessels Avangard and Slav, which are capable of receiving about fifty medium-sized railway cars in one voyage. The main cargoes are refined products, liquefied gas and construction materials. And in the fall of 2011, the ferry line to the Turkish port of Zonguldak was put into commercial operation. The ANT-2 ferry runs in this direction once a week and transports mainly vehicles with passengers. This is a convenient way to get to the popular Turkish resorts of the Mediterranean coast for those who even on vacation do not want to part with their car. Given the popularity of Antalya among Russian tourists, this direction is very promising.
Against the backdrop of the latest events of spring 2014
After the transition of the Crimean peninsula under Russian jurisdiction, transport communication passing through the port of Kavkaz has grown significantly. The ferry, the schedule of which in previous years was highly dependent on the season, is now becoming a strategically important means of communication with the peninsula returning to Russia. The load on the Kerch ferry has already increased significantly. And the assumption that the flow of goods and passengers through it in the near future will only increase will be quite logical. It will reach its maximum load at the height of the traditional tourist season. The situation is greatly complicated by the fact that the railway connection through Ukraine in the direction of the Crimea is a big question. The Kerch ferry may not be able to cope with the flow of passengers in the midst of the tourist season. The issue of launching new ferry facilities from the ports of Anapa and Novorossiysk is currently under consideration. They will be sent, bypassing Kerch, to the ports of Sevastopol, Yalta and Feodosia.
Prospects for the Kerch crossing
The question of building a bridge connecting the Crimea and the Caucasus was repeatedly raised back in the Soviet era, but it was not even possible to get closer to the concrete realization of this intention. A bridge over the Kerch Strait is currently under development. In technical terms, this project is very difficult, it is obliged to provide reliable road and rail links between the mainland and the peninsula. In addition, unhindered maritime navigation along the Kerch Strait in the direction of the Sea of Azov and vice versa should be ensured. The construction of such a complex engineering facility cannot be completed in a short period of time. But even after the bridge is built, the ferry crossing “Port Kavkaz - port“ Crimea ”” will remain the most important transport communication. It has long gone beyond its original design mission and has become an important link in the foreign trade of the Russian Federation. This is a transport and transshipment hub in many schemes of export and import operations. Currently, the port's annual cargo turnover has come close to eight million tons. Thus, the port of Kavkaz will not lose its significance even after trains and cars go along the new bridge across the Kerch Strait.