Everything about Cimmerian Bosporus totally explained
» Cimmerian Bosporus redirects here. For the ancient state, see
Bosporan Kingdom; for its rulers, see
Kings of Cimmerian Bosporus.
The
Kerch Strait ( ) connects the
Black Sea and the
Sea of Azov, separating the
Crimean
Kerch Peninsula in the west from the
Taman peninsula in the east. The strait is 4.5 to 15 km (3-11 mi) wide and up to 18 meters deep. The most important harbor is the city of
Kerch.
History
» See Bosporan Kingdom for a more complete history.
The straits are about 5 kilometres (3.5 mi) long and 4 kilometres broad at the narrowest, and are formed by an eastern extension of
Crimea (
Taurica, in ancient times) and the peninsula of Taman, a kind of continuation of the
Caucasus. This in ancient times seems to have formed a group of islands intersected by arms of the
Kuban River (
Hypanis) and various
sounds now silted up.
Transportation
In 1944, the Soviets built a "provisional" railway bridge across the strait. Construction made use some of the supplies brought by the Germans, who had planned to build a highway bridge across the strait. The bridge was completed in November 1944, but already in February 1945 it was destroyed by moving ice. Reconstruction wasn't attempted.
Ferry transportation across the strait was established in 1952, connecting
Crimea and the
Krasnodar Krai (
Port Krym -
Port Kavkaz line). Originally there were four train-ferry ships; later three car-ferry ships were added. Train transportation continued for almost 40 years. aging train-ferries became obsolete in the late 1980s and were removed from operation. In the autumn of 2004 new ships were delivered as replacements and train transportation has been re-established.
The Moscow mayor
Yuri Luzhkov campaigned for a bridge to be constructed across the strait. Construction of an approach was actually started in 2003, provoking the
Tuzla Island conflict . Furthermore, the difficult geological configuration of the area makes bridge projects expensive.
Fishing
Several fish-processing plants are located on the Crimean coast of the strait. Fishing season begins in late autumn and lasts for 2-3 months, when many seiners put out into the strait to fish.
Oil spill
On Sunday
11 November 2007, news agencies reported a very strong storm on the
Black Sea. Four ships sank, six ran aground on a sandbank and two tankers were damaged, causing a major oil spill and the death of 23 sailors. .
A Russian-flagged oil tanker, Volganeft-139, encountered trouble in the Kerch Strait where it sought shelter from the above storm. The storm split the tanker in half, resulting in the release of more than 2000
metric tons of fuel oil. It is thought that the effects of the spill are likely to be felt for many years to come. Four other boats sank in the storm, resulting in the release of sulphur cargo. Efforts to rescue crew members were hampered by the storm.
References
Further Information
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