Plans for Chartering Vessels Under National Flag at Poti Port

The Armenian authorities are considering an alternative route at the Lars border crossing for maritime transport. Although the option of a ferry is being discussed, container transportation by rail from Yerevan to Poti is being viewed as a far more viable option, according to member of parliament Armen Pambukhchyan during a press conference today.

"The use of a ferry has been discussed, but we currently have only one ferry operated by South Caucasus Railways, which, due to technical issues, cannot serve the economic operators," he stated.

According to the parliamentarian, a legislative initiative is currently underway to establish a maritime port, the goal of which is to launch vessels under the national flag, to facilitate transportation under quite favorable financial conditions.

"We have initiated an idea to execute this, which will not, of course, be short-term, as it will require compliance with various conventions. The law is nearly complete, and it must undergo legal and other examinations. We hope that we will be able to implement the project in a short time and have our own vessel at Poti port. There are 44 countries in the world that do not have direct access to the sea, and under the UN convention, they are granted the right to have their own legislation and become a 'maritime country' to conduct maritime transport through the nearest third country. In that case, each ship must definitely fly the flag of some country, register the vessels in that country, and accordingly make payments to that country’s budget," he said.