Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has reported that a locally built hydrofoil ferry has entered service on the route between Sochi and the city of Sukhumi on Georgia's Black Sea coast.
USC said the route between the two cities is being served by Kosmonaut Pavel Popovich (Космонавт Павел Попович), a Project 23160 hydrofoil ferry delivered by USC's Vympel Shipyard in 2025.
The ferry will sail on the route twice a week from May to October 2026.
As with its Project 23160 sisters, Popovich is crewed by five people and is capable of transporting up to 120 passengers at speeds of over 32 knots.
The passengers are housed in an air-conditioned cabin with business class and economy seating areas while a pitch control system keeps the ferry's attitude as level as possible for more comfortable sailing. This makes the vessel ideal for inter-city commuter operation via coastal routes.
Sukhumi is located in the northwestern Georgian breakaway republic of Abkhazia, which only five UN member countries (including Russia) recognise as an independent state.
