Russia's transport ministry plans to buy a cruiseship for voyages to the annexed region of Crimea.
It has held talks with Sovfracht and Rosmorport about running the service with the 9,200-gt Roy Star (built 1971, ex-Royal Iris) following orders from premier Vladimir Putin, according to Port News.
Estimates put the cost of the project at RUB 700m ($11.7m), including the vessel acquisition and refurbishment.
The ship is owned by Golden Cruises and operated by Mano Maritime of Haifa, Israel.
Sovfracht was the only company interested in running passenger services to Crimea.
The ministry is considering cruises calling at Sochi, Novorossiysk, Yalta, Sevastopol and Istanbul.
