Rostov Region plans to acquire a second Meteor hydrofoil ferry for a passenger route to Mariupol, where berth construction and dredging remain unfinished.
The proposed 230-kilometre Rostov-on-Don–Taganrog–Mariupol service is scheduled to begin in 2027. It would be operated by the Don Shipping Passenger Company as a mixed river-sea route across the Don and the Sea of Azov.
Alexander Chekmenyov, Deputy Transport Minister of the Rostov Region, said Mariupol had yet to complete berths for high-speed passenger vessels or the dredging required to receive them.
“There is still a lot of work to do there. But we still intend to launch the route to Mariupol,” Chekmenyov said.
Authorities in Mariupol were reported in March to be selecting a passenger berth site with sufficient depth and compliance with safety requirements. The incomplete work has delayed preparations for the first service from Rostov-on-Don.
Taganrog has completed its preparations for the planned route. Federal port operator Rosmorport equipped floating berth No. 9 near the port’s Southern Mole to handle Meteor vessels and completed dredging in the berth area. A tender for the berth modifications was valued at 14 million roubles, with completion originally required by March 25, 2026.
The region will acquire a river-class Meteor rather than the maritime version it originally sought, Chekmenyov said. It will require modernisation before operating on the Sea of Azov.
The first Meteor acquired for Rostov Region also requires transfer from inland-waterway class O to river-sea class O-ПР. Design work has had to account for both maritime operating requirements and the Don’s limited depth, which previously restricted sea-capable Meteor designs from reaching beyond Taganrog.
Regional Deputy Governor and Transport Minister Alena Belikova said in March that the second vessel had been completed at the shipyard and was expected to arrive during the second half of 2026. A Meteor with construction number S-708 completed its first commissioning run at the Alekseev Central Hydrofoil Design Bureau’s production complex on August 17.
The first Rostov vessel, hull S-707, reached 72 km/h in foilborne mode during commissioning trials in June 2025. It subsequently entered inland service on the Rostov-on-Don–Romanovskaya route in October 2025.
The Russian Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport is also considering federal subsidies for passenger operations on the Rostov–Mariupol route. The regional Transport Ministry has said about 20 sunken vessels and other objects in the Don area will not prevent restoration of the Sea of Azov connection.