A ferry service was launched on the Haydarpasa (Istanbul)-Odesa line on April 9. This was announced by Ukraine’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha, the CFTS reports.

According to the diplomat, the Kaunas Seaways ferry, which is operated by the Ukrferry company, was 90% full on its first voyage.

The Kaunas Seaways automobile/rail/passenger ferry can accommodate 49 universal railcars and 50 TIR trucks simultaneously. It also has 250 passenger berths in lux cabins, semi-lux cabins, as well as two- and three-bed cabins.

The ferry was built in Germany in 1989. With a length of 190.9 meters and a width of 28 meters, it even entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1991 as the largest vessel of this type.

As the CFTS earlier reported, Ukraine has said that it is ready for negotiations on reestablishment of ferry links with Greece and that it could involve Greek ferries in cargo transportation on the Black Sea segment of the New Silk Road.

It was also reported that Ukrzaliznytsia would announce a competition for the right to operate the repaired Heroiv Shipka ferry, which the company received in 2015, on the Black Sea within a few weeks.