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Armenian businesses unhappy with ferry routes

By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)
Thursday, February 7
Arsen Kazaryan, chair of Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Armenia, recently said that the new Kavkaz–Poti ferry route has failed to offer real competition to Armenia’s other major Black Sea connection to Russia, the Ukrainian-run Ilichevsk–Poti ferry route.

He said the Kavkaz–Poti ferry route, which opened last year, is transiting low levels of cargo at relatively high tariffs, adding that with its current capacity at 40–45 shipping containers, it is not able to properly compete with the Ilichevsk–Poti service which has a capacity of 108 containers.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ferry company that operates the Ilichevsk–Poti route is considering a new connection with the Russian port of Novorosiisk, according to Ukrferry commercial director Vladimir Chernievski, who yesterday finished a three-day visit to Armenia to meet government officials and businessmen.