Source: UkrFerry

According to the latest reports from Odesa, Ukraine, the rail ferry Vilnius has made a number of port calls at Varna, Batumi and Chornomorsk, Ukraine in Late March.

“Our sources in Chornomorsk ferry port confirmed that there have been a few vessel calls already, but the cargo volume was low, and those calls were aimed at testing the security and stability of a route,” Informall analyst Alexander Khromov told Seatrade Maritime News.

The Panamanian registered Vilnius, which was built in Germany in 1987, is operating the weekly service; the 91 m vessel has berths for 132 passengers and 1,700 lane metres for trucks.

Vassiliy Vesselovski, CEO at Odesa-based transport consultancy Informall, said: “This ferry service existed before the war for more than 45 years. I think another crucial advantage is that the ferry is designed for a 1,520 mm rail gauge – which is common for Central Asia, Caucasus, and Ukraine railways.”

The UkrFerry website advertised the Varna/Batumi service in January, but Seatrade understands that the Chornomorsk ferry terminal call was added in March. “The assumption is the first two calls [at Chornomorsk] were far from a full load. I think this service needs to be maintained for at least two months until Central Asia and Caucasus markets will rank its sustainability and return with a fair contribution of cargo,” Vesselovski added.

According to UkrFerry’s president, Alexander Kurliand, while the Black Sea ferry service has been operational for 45 years, UkrFerry itself has been “connecting the ports of the Black Sea for 25 years.” The company operates four vessels in total with no schedules for its three other ships currently available.