Pyramid of Cheops on the ferry

In February 2024, three railway ferries operated on the Ust-Luga – Baltiysk line, and the fourth, the Ambal, has been undergoing scheduled repairs at the dock since December 2023, during which the hull has already been painted and the shaft line has been repaired.

A shaft line is a set of devices on a ship that transmit torque from the engines to the propellers (the Ambal has 2 main engines, 2 propellers and 2 shafts of 10 m each). Shaft line repairs are very complex works carried out only in the dock, and before that they were carried out on the ferry Ambal 6 years ago. Since then, he has traveled more than 400,000 miles. made 420 round-trips and transported about 6 million tons of cargo – almost the pyramid of Cheops. 

Basically, these were fuels and lubricants, food and essential goods that are not produced in the Kaliningrad region.

In addition, Ambal delivered goods necessary for the construction of infrastructure and social facilities in the region. First of all, these are construction materials, cement, agricultural, harvesting and road equipment for the construction of bridges, bypasses, roads, as well as school and university buildings.

During the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the ferry ensured the delivery of construction materials, automotive and construction equipment for the construction of a new medical center of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the Kaliningrad region.

In the opposite direction, the ferry brought products of Kaliningrad manufacturers, including chemical enterprises, composite products, as well as Kaliningrad cranes, which are currently actively used to equip and build factories, nuclear power plants and other large-scale facilities throughout Russia.

 The ferry actively participated in the cultural life of the region, delivering equipment for the filming of TV series, circus performances and theater festivals. One of the valuable cargoes delivered by ferries to Kaliningrad and back was circus and farm animals, deer and day-old chickens.

 The Ambal ferry is adapted for the transportation of railway rolling stock and wheeled vehicles. In addition, it has cabins for 12 passengers from among the accompanying cargo, freight forwarders and drivers.

Tentatively, the vessel will enter the line on March 31, 2024.