Ferry enters Sakaiminato to inaugurate new shipping line

SAKAIMINATO, Japan, June 30 (Itar-Tass) - The Eastern Dream ferry has
entered the Japanese port of Sakaiminato on Tuesday to inaugurate a new
cargo-and-passenger ferry line that will link Russia, Japan, and South
Korea. The ferry is capableof taking up to 500 passengers, 70 motor
vehicles, and 130 containers on board.
An official ceremony marking the launching of a new ferry line is to
be held on Wednesday. The initiative aimed at opening such a ferry line
was proposed by the administrations of Russia's Primorsky (maritime)
Territory, Japan's Tottori Prefecture, and the South Korean Province of
Kangwon-do.
Talks to this effect had been held since November 2007. However, a
final decision was taken during a meeting of the administration chiefs of
Northeast Asia in Vladivostok in September 2008.
The ferry will ply along the route Tonghae (South Korea's Kangwon-do
Province) - Sakaiminato - Vladivostok.
The Eastern Dream ferry is expected to promote the development of
coooperation among the regions of the three countries and substantially to
raise the tourist and economic attractiveness of Vladivostok and the
entire Primorye..
-0-pop