Bulgaria and Russia are adding a second ship to the Varna-Port Kavkaz ferry line in the Black Sea starting April 2010.

The ferry line connecting Bulgaria’s Varna and Russia’s Port Kavkaz was launched in May 2009. It shortens the land trading route between the two countries by 800 km, and reduces the time needed to transport cargo between them by 40%.

The capacity of the second ferry boat to run between the two ports is 50 railroad cars. Two more ships will be added to the line by the end of 2010, according to Simeon Ananiev, CEO of the Bulgarian agency “Railroad Administration”, as cited by the Pari Daily.

Ananiev pointed out that Bulgaria is seeking to develop the transport corridors from between China and the EU through the Black Sea. He also said the Varna-Port Kavkaz ferry line will be very useful for the construction of the three large-scale Russian projects in Bulgaria – the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, the South Stream gas pipeline, and the Belene Nuclear Plant – because it is very suitable for transporting equipment and construction materials.

Ananiev believes that a problem for the country is the absence of a port operator firm to be in charge of carrying out the necessary modernization investments.