Poti-Kavkaz Train-Ferry Service Launches Soon for Armenian Freight Forwarders

According to Vahan Kerobyan, the minister of Armenia's economy, a train-ferry service will begin operating in August between the Black Sea ports of Poti in Georgia and Kavkaz in Russia.

A Dutch corporation that runs the Port of Poti in Georgia did not provide approval for the train-ferry service, which was originally scheduled to begin on June 15 and convey products from and to Armenia to Russia and beyond.
'Although the launch of the ferry service took more time, it will be definitely launched this month,' Kerobyan said.

"All the issues have been resolved. And now the only problem that still needs to be resolved is that we will need to get permits online for each product to be able to carry out shipments. And I think we're ready to release the schedule of the service. That will happen in the next few days," said Kerobyan.

Earlier, the Armenian government made the decision to fully subsidize for six months the ferry service that runs from the Georgian port of Poti to the Russian port of Kavkaz and back.

On May 5, C&M International LLC was declared by the Armenian government the operator of the train-ferry service.

The Poti –Port Kavkaz train-ferry link between Georgia and Russia is viewed as an alternative to the Russian-Georgian border crossing at Upper Lars which processes the bulk of Armenia’s cargo traffic with Russia.

The border crossing is frequently closed due to blizzards and landslides in winter and spring, causing Armenian companies serious losses as hundreds of Armenian trucks strand there for weeks, ARKA reports.