Russia starts transporting explosive cargo across the Crimean bridge after the destruction of railway ferries

Russians have stepped up fuel transportation across the Crimean bridge after the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit all rail ferries in Kerch.

The video was published online.

Footage published by civilians shows a train with fuel tanks moving along the Crimean Bridge railroad line.

Until recently, the Russian government forbade the transportation of petroleum products and ammunition across the bridge to Crimea, because it could cause accidents that could cause significant damage to the bridge structures.

Oil products and explosive cargo, such as ammunition, were transported by sea via ferry or by large landing craft from the Russian mainland.

However, it seems that the Russians were forced to resume transportation of these cargoes after two Russian ferries, Avangard and Conroe Trader, were hit by ATACMS ballistic missiles on May 30. They were the only means of transporting railroad cars across the Kerch Strait.

Satellite images show that the Avangard vessel was shot down in the small port of Crimea on the outskirts of the temporarily occupied city of Kerch. It sustained a hole in the upper deck. The ship rolled after the impact and reportedly ran aground.

At the same time, the Conro Trader vessel was hit near the berth of the Kerch Sea Fishing Port. It sustained less critical damage. The images show damage to the side and burn marks on the deck caused by the explosion of the missile’s warhead.

In addition to these two vessels, five other ferries connect the occupied peninsula with the Russian mainland: two small car ferries, Kerch-2 and Yeysk, and three large car ferries, Lavrentiy, Panagia, and Maria.

An alternative to ferry crossings could be amphibious assault ships of the Russian Navy. The latter were previously actively used to transport equipment and ammunition to Crimea.

One of these ships, which was loaded with ammunition, was hit in the port of Feodosia last December. The landing ship Novocherkassk was torn apart by the detonation of a dangerous cargo.

As previously reported, after a series of attacks on Russian maritime logistics in the occupied Crimea, Russia withdrew a large group of ships from the port of Novorossiysk, including 4 landing ships.

On June 7, one of the Project 775 amphibious warfare ships that had been withdrawn from Novorossiysk arrived in occupied Sevastopol. It is possible that it will take over part of the tasks of the disabled ferries.