Ferry servicing new int'l route calls at Vladivostok.

6/7 Tass 91

VLADIVOSTOK, July 6 (Itar-Tass) - A ferry servicing the new
international route linking Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea made
the first call at the port of Vladivostok on Monday.

Representatives of
the Primorye territorial administration, of the Japanese prefecture
Tottori and of the South Korean province Kangwon welcomed the Eastern
Dream ferry in the port.
Pavel Popov, the deputy governor of the Primorye territory, said, "The
opening of the new ferry service is, without exaggeration, an historic
event that will promote the development of trade and tourism and make for
the strengthening of ties between Russia's Far East, Japan and the
Republic of Korea." "We hope that after a certain slump the flow of
tourists from Japan and South Korea will increase, the more so as foreign
tourists now can stay in Russia for 72 hours without a visa," he said.
The ferry will run on a circular route linking the ports of
Sakaiminato, the Japanese prefecture Tottori, Tonhe, the South Korean
province Kangwon, and Vladivostok. It left on the first run from Japan on
July 1.
The vessel can carry 530 people, including the crew, up to 70
automobiles and 130 containers. It will take the ferry 18 hours to reach
the South Korean port from Vladivostok, and its run from South Korea to
Japan will last for 12 hours. The ferry will call at Vladivostok once a
week on Tuesday and will make 48 calls at the central city of the Primorye
territory a year.
The initiative for the opening of the new ferry service came from the
administrations of the Primorye territory, the Japanese Tottori prefecture
and the South Korean province Kangwon. The negotiations on the opening of
the ferry service were conducted from November 2007, and the final
decision was made at the meeting of the heads of North East Asian
administrations in Vladivostok in September 2008.
Experts of the Primorye administration hold that the opening of the
new service will promote the development of cooperation in trade and
tourism. From March 3 foreign tourists need no visa to stay on Russian
territory for 72 hours if they arrive in Russia on board a passenger
ferry. This will make Vladivostok and the entire Primorye territory more
attractive to tourism.
-0-saf/gor