Kerch is a unique city located in the East of the Crimean peninsula. First of all, the uniqueness is due to the centuries-old history of the city, which dates back to the prehistoric period. Kerch was part of several empires that ruled at different times on the territory of the peninsula. Each of these empires left its mark on the architecture of buildings that are located on the territory of the entire Crimea.
Kerch, first of all, attracts tourists with its unique geographical location: the sea coast of the city is washed by two seas at once - the Azov and the Black. But to get to the territory of the city, it is necessary to cross the Kerch Strait. A bridge between mainland Russia and the Crimean peninsula has not yet been built. For these purposes, a ferry crossing is used.
Russia in the near future, in connection with the acceptance of Crimea into its composition, is preparing plans for the construction of a road and rail bridge that will connect the Krasnodar Territory and the city of Kerch. The ferry crossing across the Kerch Strait will soon becomeentertainment for tourists.
Kerch: crossing, background of creation
The first mention of the creation of the Kerch port dates back to the end of the 18th century, when Empress Catherine II promised the neighboring Greeks that a “free and free port” would be organized on the territory of Kerch. But the promise was fulfilled by another Russian emperor, Alexander I, who signed a decree of 1821 on the creation of the port. From now on, the port in the city of Kerch, the ferry service begins.
The first bridge between the mainland and the peninsula was built during the Great Patriotic War. The construction of the bridge was made from building materials that were abandoned by the retreating Germans, who had previously tried to build a crossing to the Taman Peninsula. But this bridge served no more than a year. Already at the beginning of 1945, he received damage from the movement of ice from the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Then, again, the ferry across Kerch began to fulfill its duties of sending people from the peninsula to the mainland of the RSFSR.
Today, ferries transport thousands of people and hundreds of cars daily from the mainland of Russia from the port of Kavkaz to the port of Krym in the city of Kerch. Crossing between ports, its length is about 5 kilometers, and the travel time takes about half an hour.
Rail ferry operation
Until 1990, ferries carried not only passengers and vehicles, butand rolling railway loaded trains. For these purposes, in 1951, the first series of ships "Zapolyarny" and "Nadym" was built, and later the ships "Chulym" and "Severny" were put into operation. These vessels were able to simultaneously transport 32 two-axle loaded wagons from the mainland to the peninsula in the city of Kerch. The crossing, unfortunately, did not function for long.
Already in the late 80s of the 20th century, part of the built railway ferries began to fail. After the collapse of the USSR, funding for the maintenance of existing ferries and the construction of new ones was completely stopped. There have been attempts to restore the rail ferry service. For this purpose, in 2002, a ferry under the same name Sakhalin-6 arrived from the Sakhalin Peninsula to the port of Kerch. The crossing for trains was never restored. The reason for this was that the technical specialists did not fully calculate the drawdown of the vessel. It gave a draft in the water to a depth of 4 meters, and together with the cargo was immersed to a depth of 9 meters. With such characteristics, the vessel could not carry out work in the Kerch Strait. The movement of rail ferries was restored only in 2004
Car Ferry Service
The first ferry "Kerchsky-1" for the transportation of vehicles began its work in the Kerch Strait in 1975. It was built at the Riga Shipyard. Later, the second ferry "Kerch-2" was built at the same plant.
The construction of such ferries was primarily planned as icebreakerscourts. Thus, the winter navigation of ship traffic was simplified. One of the ferries, together with cargo, cars and passengers, served as an icebreaker, in turn, the second ferry could act as a conductor for cargo ships sailing along the strait. All ferries eventually also required repair work, restoration, but due to lack of funding, no action was taken, and the last of the surviving Kerch-1 car ferries was disposed of in 2012.
Crossing for road and rail transport in the Kerch Strait today
Due to the condition of the entire fleet of ships that fell into disrepair and were subsequently disposed of, several ferries were repaired and purchased to ensure the movement of goods:
For crossing vehicles
- The ANT-2 ferry was purchased, which can simultaneously accommodate up to 80 vehicles.
- The Yeysk and Kerch-2 ferries have been restored and are operating.
For rail transport
- One of the Russian companies launched the Petrovsk and Annenkov ferries to provide rail transportation, which operate between the ports of the Caucasus and Crimea.
- "Slavyanin" and "Avangard" - these two ferries were put on flights to supply liquefied gas to Bulgaria.
Passenger transportation along the Kerch Strait
Among the ferry traffic across the Kerch Strait, the first place belongs topassenger flights. The number of passengers crossing the strait during the summer season increases tenfold. First of all, due to the mass of tourists who from the territory of the Russian Federation seek to get to the resorts of Crimea.
For this ferry crossing "Kerch-Kavkaz" carries out daily transportation of passengers, excluding holidays and weekends. Passenger boats run every 30 minutes.
Procedure for the actions of passengers transporting cars in ports at ferry crossings of the Kerch Strait
Like any shipping, the ferry regulates its transportation for passengers.
Many tourists before traveling searched for the information they were interested in, formulating their request succinctly: "Crossing Kerch, Russia", in order to find out the requirements and tariffs for crossing the ferry in the Kerch Strait.
For those wishing to cross from one port to another, passengers must comply with the following requirements:
- Taking the queue for the ferry. It should be remembered that the queue for the transportation of cars and passengers is separate from the queue for freight and public transport.
- Getting a receipt for payment for the transportation of a car from a ferry officer. The receipt contains all the details of the car (length of the car, data from the technical passport) and all the details of the passengers
- Payment at the ticket offices of the ports of receipt. Waiting for a signal to enter the car for loading.
You should also be aware that the length of the vehicle will affect the costtransportation. Tariffs are set for the transportation of three categories of cars on the ferry:
- For cars up to 4.2 meters.
- For cars over 4.2 and under 5.1 meters.
- If the car is longer than 5.1 meters.
