Ukraine Claims Strike on Kerch Strait's Strategic Rail Ferry

Low-resolution video still purporting to show a fire on the deck of the ferry Slavyanin at Kavkaz (Armed Forces of Ukraine)

PUBLISHED JUL 23, 2024 7:49 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Ukrainian forces attacked a ferry terminal at the Russian port of Kavkaz on Tuesday, killing one and injuring others, according to the region's governor. The Ukrainian Navy claimed responsibility for the attack and said that it caused "significant damage" to a rail ferry. 

The service identified the vessel as the Slavyanin, a 500-foot freight ferry on the Kerch Strait crossing. The Slavyanin was the last railcar-capable cargo vessel in the region, and it was a key component of the Russian munitions supply chain for the occupied Crimean peninsula. 

Slavyanin in 2023 (image courtesy Ukrainian Energy Ministry)

Ukraine's claims could not be immediately verified, but the governor for Russia's Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, reported that the port of Kavkaz was hit by a drone attack overnight. 

Slavyanin was a strategic target for the Ukrainian armed forces. After repeated Ukrainian attacks on the Kerch Strait Bridge, the Russian military has tried to keep hazardous cargoes off the road and rail spans, hoping to minimize the risk of a secondary explosion or a damaging fire in the event of another strike. Key military cargoes have been diverted onto the nearby rail ferry connection at Kavkaz for safety. This critical Russian logistics connection has made the Kavkaz ferries and their associated infrastructure a priority target.

A round of Ukrainian missile strikes in late May reportedly damaged the fuel tank depot at Kavkaz and the other two ferries assigned to the route. 

The Soviet-era Slavyanin was formerly deployed on a route between the Russian Caucasus and Bulgaria, and it appears she was repositioned to the Kerch Strait this year. The ship was hit by a bulker off the coast of Bulgaria in November 2023, resulting in damage to three ballast tanks.