Armenia: The Armenian exports to Russia have upsurged by 50% within the first six months period of this year. Consequently, Armenia is working on the establishment of a new Black SEA ferry service from Georgia to Russia, as per the officials. Since the land transport routes via Georgia have been overloaded, some new means had to be developed at the earliest.
The obstacles faced by Armenia at the Georgia-Russia border have become the driving force towards this development. Things had turned even worse with tightened scrutiny in the wake of the war in Ukraine, which caused international sanctions against Russia.
Armenia’s Economy Ministry stated that the ferry service from Georgia’s port of Poti to Kavkaz in Russia was scheduled to begin operations from June 15, but now it would commence in August.Â
The sanctions imposed upon Russia are known to be the reason for this delay, as the economy minister Vahan Kerobyan stated. However, he refrained from making any statements about these sanctions on Russia.
An Armenian government decree that was signed on March 24, 2022, said that the Armenian logistics company C&M International would operate the ferry between Poti and Kavkaz twice a week. Kerobyan stated that the fruit and vegetable exporters should be benefitted from the subsidized costs upon the use of the ferry for the six months of its operations.
Armenia relies heavily upon Russia for agricultural imports. These countries don’t share borders. Thus the overland traffic passes through Georgia. The road to the single border crossing between Georgia and Russia, Upper Lars, traverses a high pass in the Caucasus mountains and is highly prone to weather-driven closures.Â
The ferry is expected to cut down the average time for cargo transportation en route from Armenia to Russia from seven days to four days. That’s just how the countries shall be benefitted from the recent and significant development.
