Andrey Tarasenko, Head of the Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot), and Sergey Pylin, General Director of FSUE “Rosmorport”, took part in a meeting with Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for Development of the Far East and the Arctic, on the development of sea cruise tourism in the Far Eastern Federal District and the Western Arctic.

At the meeting, which was also attended by business representatives, the following issues were discussed among others: proposals for the organization of tourist transportation in these areas and creation of a unified company to operate the federal network of sea cruise routes which will organize and implement all the measures on creation and management of the tourist product. The possibility of applying measures of state support for investors planning the development of sea cruise tourism in the Far East and the Western Arctic was also discussed.

During the meeting, Alexey Chekunkov supported the project of organizing sea cruises from Vladivostok to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and discussed options for acquiring a cruise vessel to operate in the Russian Far East.

A 10-day cruise is supposed to be carried out from April to October, with calls at the ports of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The voyage will provide a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the Russian Far East and see both nature reserves and cultural and economic centers of Primorye and Kamchatka Territory. There is also a return cruise from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Vladivostok.

In winter, from November to March, it is planned to launch international cruises from Vladivostok with calls at the ports of China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and other friendly countries of the Asia-Pacific Region.

The project is aimed at increasing the tourist attractiveness and accessibility of Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, and Kamchatka Territory, invite foreign tourists, and stimulate the development of passenger infrastructure in the Russian Far East.

The program for the development of sea cruise tourism was developed by Rosmorrechflot in cooperation with FSUE “Rosmorport” in order to implement the national project “Tourism and the Hospitality Industry”. The program provides for the creation of a network of routes in the sea basins of the Russian Federation, the purchase on foreign markets and the construction (completion) at Russian shipyards of cruise liners optimal for use on each of the routes, and the creation of an operator company to manage the federal cruise service.