Minister of Economy: Ferry service has not aroused interest among  exporters and importers

ArmInfo. The ferry service has been operating for several months, but, according to our  assessment, it has not generated sufficient interest among exporters and importers. Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan announced during a press conference.

He did not rule out that the program to subsidize the maritime cargo  transportation sector would be terminated. "We did not see that  companies involved in export and import used the ferry service in  such a way that we convinced our partners to continue the  implementation of this program," the minister noted.

In May 2023 it was announced the launch of sea freight transportation  from Batumi to Novorossiysk, which was intended to become an  alternative to the Upper Lars checkpoint. Such a decision was made  after the initiative to launch a ferry service from the Georgian port  of Poti to the Russian port of Caucasus failed due to Western  sanctions. It was planned to carry out one shipment per week; in the  future, depending on demand, the number of shipments could be  increased. The state intended to subsidize the maritime cargo  transportation sector. Let us recall that back in the spring of 2021,  RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan announced the launch of regular  ferry service from June 15 from the Georgian port of Poti to the  Russian port of Caucasus. The ferry operator was the APM Terminals  Poti shipping company, which imposed sanctions on the Russian  Federation in connection with the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. As a  result, transportation along the planned route came under  restrictions. It was planned that the ferry service would connect the  railway traffic of Armenia with the railway system of the EAEU. The  state intends to subsidize the ferry service, at the same time the  South Caucasus Railway (SCR) promised to reduce tariffs (by 30%) in  the direction of Russia with a link with the Eurasian railway system.  Tariffs were also announced to be reduced by the Russian (50%) and  Georgian (25%) railways.