Taking a ferry across the Black Sea is like returning thirty years in time to true Soviet bureaucracy.
As a traveler of the former Soviet Union, some experience has been gained with bureaucracy at border crossings. The first time we went by car to the Soviet Union were in 1987 when we drove Finland – Moscow – Poland. The border police was extremely formal, the staff had the famous stone face, but all went reasonably quickly because there were no other cars that should cross the border. Next time, in 2015, also the border with Finland, it took 4 hours because there was a long queue of cars. But the formalities went fast and were simplified compared to 1987. The staff had even started to smile.
Into Ukraine now in 2017 it went well. We had to wait one and a half hours because the inspectors ate or something like that, but then there were only a few stamps, some computer typing, and “have a nice trip in Ukraine”.
Ferry from Chernomorsk
However, the procedure for getting onboard the ferry from Chernomorsk, a port town near Odessa, to Butami in Georgia, beats all levels of bureaucracy we have experienced. Departure day starts at 10:00 (exactly please) with a meeting at the UKR Ferries office in Odessa. Here we pay passenger tickets, only in cash local currency, please. Vlad, Manager of Passenger Services, is the kindness himself. He speaks a useful English, but falls into German at all times. He counts money and explains us where to go to pay for the car, which is a completely different place. Meet up at 13:00 and pay in cash, please. Then we must meet at the ferry terminal at 4:00 pm to begin the customs and passport procedure. Chernomorsk is not so much to see and, traffic is intense, so we drive straight to the terminal and wait. And, exactly at 4pm, we can show the passport and the car’s papers to the the first police man and drive in. We are given a stamped paper slip. All bureaucracy in the old Soviet, and it turns out, the new Ukraine is about stamped paper slip. Small slips torn by a print from a matrix printer and given the appropriate stamp. If you loose the slip you’re bad off. Back to start, please.
Then we move to the first checkpoint, checking what is not known, waiting, show the car’s papers and passports, deliver the paper slip and drive to the next checkpoint. Waiting, man comes and checks the car’s frame number and delivers a new note. Then enter an office, show the car’s papers and passport, deliver the paper slip. This is the cars customs handling, all the car’s personal data is added to the data.
Then out in the car, move it 100 meters, wait.
New, very blunt young man shows up and goes through luggage carefully, and checks the car’s frame number again. Distribution of stamped slip. This is the most important piece of paper, only 2.5 times 8 cm in size. The time is now one at night and this is the slip that will let us aboard. Take care of it!
But not quite that easy. Into new office, view car’s papers and passports, re-record all car data on new computer, get a stamp on the voucher, and out.
Done? Not completely. We are now allowed to board, showing small paper slip of course, but the car must be left behind. We will not be allowed to board aboard in 4 hours, at 6 o’clock in the morning.. We will be notified. Exhausted we fall asleep. At 6:00 we hear a weak voice from the loudspeaker system giving a short message in Russian. Fortunately,I understand the Russian word machina, car, and guess the context. Drives on board as the last car and the rest of the vacation is saved. It took 20 hours in total.
It should be noted that this is not exactly Stena Line. The boat we travel with is Kaunas Seaways, an old DFDS ferry from the Baltic Sea which is well maintained. It mainly carries trailers and trains, but also takes passengers. There are about 20 passenger cars and motorcycles onboard. A German tourist by car, two Englishmen, 4 Germans and two Czechs on motorcycles, the rest Georgians and Ukrainians.
The included meals are served at regular times, there is table seating and healthy, Ukrainian farm eating. The trip takes 40 hours.
Links and coordinates
UKR Ferry office in Odessa (N 46*28´46.53´´ E 30*44´57.08´´).
Ferry port of Chornomorsk (N 46*20´50.82´´ E 30*39´50.92´´).
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