Plans for cruise line to Solovki

The regional government in Arkhangelsk seeks Norwegian help to establish a cruise line between Arkhangelsk and the Archipelago Solovki in the White Sea. Finnmark county administration has initiated a study of the possibilities.

At a meeting between the regional governments in Arkhangelsk and Finnmark in Arkhangelsk last week, the Russian side presented drawings of a passenger ship they want to build and put into service between the Barents Region’s largest town and the monastery Archipelago of Solovki.

The plan is to build the vessel and operate the route in cooperation with Norwegian interests, says special advisor on transport and communication in the Finnmark County administration Eirik Selmer to BarentsObserver. The Russian side is also interested in having Norwegian cruise liners to visit the islands.

Read also: Six foreign cruise liners to visit Solovki

The historical spiritual center of Northern Russia on Solovki draws 35 000 tourists every year. It is possible to go by air plane from Arkhangelsk to Solovki, but most of the tourists come by boat from the Karelian towns of Kem or Belomorsk, thus depriving Arkhangelsk for larges incomes from tourism.

The ambition is to get 120 000 tourists per year to visit Solovki.

The Finnmark County administration has ordered a study of the commercial basis for a cruise line between Arkhangelsk and Solovki, and how practical challenges concerning customs, visas and border crossing can be solved if Norwegian cruise liners should enter the White Sea. The study is planned to be ready November 1, and will then be sent to the Arkhangelsk regional government, Selmer says.

- When we get such concrete inquiries from the Russian side, it is our ambition to be reliable and come up with a quick response, Selmer says. – When the study has been handed over, it will be up to the Russian side to take the next step, he adds.

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