The head of the Krasnodar Territory explained the refusal of the Seabridge ferry to enter the port of Sochi

The Seabridge ferry was refused entry to the port of Sochi, as the Sochi infrastructure is not sufficiently prepared to receive cargo and passenger vessels. This was announced on November 10 by the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratiev.

"There are not enough mobile inspection and inspection complexes at the border checkpoint, which significantly increases the vulnerability of the border control system and may create risks of transporting dangerous and prohibited materials," TASS quoted him as saying.

Kondratiev added that he had sent an appeal on the situation with the ferry to Andrey Tarasenko, head of the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot). In it, he noted that the marine station is located in the historical center of Sochi, and this is a recreational area through which large streams of pedestrians pass.

"Transport routes <...> from the seaport pass through the historical center of Sochi, which is frequented by many tourists and residents, as well as through densely populated areas. All this will negatively affect the tourist attractiveness of the resort," the governor explained the reason for the refusal.

Ferryman with food: how the Trabzon — Sochi route will work

Maritime communication between Russia and Turkey is resumed after a 14-year hiatus

Earlier, on November 9, it became known that Seabridge, after three and a half days of downtime at the Sochi roadstead, set off on its return journey without being allowed to enter the Russian port. Later, Sergey Turkmenyan, CEO of SVS-Shipping, announced that the Seabridge ferry, which had not released passengers in Sochi, had returned to Trabzon, Turkey.

The leadership of the Krasnodar Territory reported on November 7 that the organization of a ferry service between Sochi, Russia, and Trabzon, Turkey, is impossible in the current conditions due to unresolved security issues.

The Sochi– Trabzon – Sochi ferry line operated from 1993 to September 2011, and then ceased operations. The resumption of the launch of the cargo and passenger ferry was discussed back in 2023, but it was possible to launch it only now.

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