A passenger ferry service along the Black Sea coast between the Russian port of Sochi, and Tuapse, Georgia, was launched Thursday with an initial service utilising the high-speed catamaran pair 'Sochi-1' and 'Sochi-2'.
Owner Rosmorport, a Russian Government body, said the main objective of the project was to restore a marine passenger service along the Black Sea coast to establish modern maritime transport infrastructure at the resort city of Sochi on the eve of the 2014 Olympics.
Rosmorport said all measures were being taken to ensure that the cost of travel on the service was accessible to everyone. Each catamaran is 40 metres long and 10 metres wide, and can accommodate 300 passengers and reach speeds of up to 32 knots.
