... Catherin the Great. The thorny question of the potential opening of the Kerch Strait to the international shipping, and the subsequent internationalization of the Azov Sea’s waters, featured among the long list of issues which strained Russia-Ukraine relations after 1991.
Through the annexation of Crimea, Russia recovers the full sovereignty over the best coasts and the best port, Sevastopol, of the Black Sea basin. In absorbing the peninsula, Moscow retrieves nearly 1 000 km of additional coasts, including ports such as Feodossia and Kerch, which are larger and more interesting than Russian ports in the Black Sea, Novorossiysk ...
... of the Black Sea Fleet and the induction of new sea platforms will call for the development and the modernization of Crimean shipyards to support Russia’s increasing naval activity in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
Toward the Revival of Crimean Shipyards?
From a historical perspective, the most important Russian and Soviet Black Sea shipyards were located in Ukraine. While Nikolayev and Kherson laid down among the biggest surface vessels for the Imperial and Soviet navy, Sevmorzavod (Sevastopol) performed the maintenance of more than 80% of the tonnage of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet during the Cold War[16]. Yet, after the collapse of the USSR, most of the units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet were sent to Russia’s Baltic shipyards ...
... kilometers), and to build a new line connecting Simferopol to Feodossia (nearly 120 kilometers)[11]. Once the Kerch Strait Bridge is built, the heart of Crimea will be directly connected to Russia’s Kuban, putting Simferopol, and Sevastopol (the Sevastopol-Simferopol line already exists), from a few hours from Novorossiysk.
The other issue is energy supplies to Crimea. Currently, the peninsula produces 10% to 30% of its needs, while the rest of the electricity, around 1,400 megawatts, comes from Ukraine. To deal with Crimean energy supplies, Russia plans to build two new power plants. The first one would be built directly on the peninsula and would deliver 500 to 600 megawatts, whereas the second plant would be located near Novorossiysk and would ...
