Ukrainian military reportedly causes massive fuel tank backlog on Crimean Bridge

A queue of thousands of railroad cars has amassed at the entrance to the Crimean Bridge, some waiting for as long as six months, as reported by Russian business outlet Kommersant on March 25th.

The Russian North Caucasian Railway has accumulated 2,500 loaded tankers carrying oil products due to restrictions on the passage of dangerous goods across the Crimean Bridge and the need to wait for ferries and tankers to arrive.

This issue was deliberated at a meeting of a working group under the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 15th, as per the minutes cited by the newspaper.

"Some of them have been standing for six months," Kommersant reports.

Market participants propose utilizing tankers more for transportation to Crimea, while temporarily halting the release of additional tanks into this direction.

The downtime in the south underscores the overall shortage of oil and gasoline tanks in Russia, estimated differently from hundreds to 45,000 units.

Oil companies suggest temporarily lifting the ban on extending the service life of tank cars, but railcar builders and Russian Railways oppose this proposal.