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Emilė Kaminskaitė, Director of the Kaunas District Business and Tourist Information Center, noted that the private 12-seater boat Vytis (5 places for bicycles), which had been navigating the Nemunas between Zapyškis and Kulautuva until now, could no longer do facing the ever-increasing flow of cyclists. It was not adapted, so it was decided to launch a public tender and purchase a more comfortable boat.
The director said that this summer Vytis carried 4,586 passengers across the Nemunas, 3,273 of whom were cycling.
For a year, this service purchased from a private person cost the municipality 25 thousand. euros. Only less than half of the amount paid was charged to passengers. For these reasons, it was decided to purchase our own catamaran, made to order at the Augustów Shipyard. Therefore, starting next season, not only Vytis, but also higher capacity Zapyškis will run between the two banks of the Nemunas.
The price of a new catamaran is 199 thousand. 529 EUR (VAT included).
Why was the catamaran chosen?
“Its speed is low, but it is a safe and comfortable boat, suitable not only for cyclists, but also for people with reduced mobility,” explained E. Kaminskaitė.
It is also important that the maximum draft of the catamaran is only 0.7 meters (minimum – 0.55 meters), which is very important for sailing in the Nemunas, which is becoming more and more drought.
The deck of the catamaran, which measures 12 meters long and 4 meters wide, is covered, so hikers will not have to fear the rain. It is even possible to charge mobile phones via USB connections.
Eriko Ovcharenko / 15min nuotr./Catamaranas “Zapyškis”
There are 24 seats inside, but the ship can accommodate significantly more passengers: 47. The toilet rooms, the boarding and disembarking stairs with handrails are adapted for people with mobility problems. A fire alarm and sound equipment have been installed, which will facilitate the work of the guides. There are also 10 bike racks.
Kaunas district mayor Valerijus Makūnas emphasized that after the construction of the bike path to Zapyškis such a boat became a necessity. When asked why the catamaran was launched in the fall, at the end of the season, she assured that this was the seventh attempt to buy a ferry and that previous purchases had not yielded any results. The previous acquisition was also hampered by the quarantine, which led to the closure of the shipyards.
“We hope to popularize the water routes. Thanks to Rimantas Mažukna, the owner of the Vytis ship, who performed this service every year, but during the quarantine, domestic tourism increased significantly and water tourism is becoming more popular. People who do not they could fit on the boat, they increasingly expressed their outrage at having to wait an hour.
We also look for opportunities with private investors, but we see what the prices are then. Look at Birstonas. And our philosophy is different: we want to bring everyone to the Nemunas at an affordable price. The price of this ferry, which connects the two shores, is 1 euro. With bicycle – 2 euros. If the business came, the price would be 6-10 euros.
People are drawn to the renovated Zapyškis St. Church of St. John the Baptist, Pypliai mound, literary Kačerginė, Kulautuva pine forests, Vilkija, bicycle and pedestrian paths. We accept many residents of Kaunas, residents of Vilnius, people from all over Lithuania who come here, ”said the mayor, who hopes that Zapyškis will also transport students and perform an educational function.
After the bike path was extended to Zapyškis, a unique route of about 40 km in length was finally formed: the Little Tourist Ring. Now in one day you can cycle from the old town of Kaunas to Zapyškis, visiting the Botanical-Zoological Reserve of Kamša, Obelynė, Pylius, Kačerginė. After crossing the Nemunas by boat, turn towards Kulautuva and return to the bike path built on the right bank of the Nemunas.
On Thursday, Zapyškis launched into the port of the Inland Waterways Directorate, which operates on the Kaunas Raudondvaris highway, and began its first pilot trip to the Zapyškis pier. Due to the favorable wind, it lasted about an hour and ten minutes. The passenger catamaran reached 15 km / h. speed.
“It just came to our notice then. He’ll fix the engine a bit more (you have to turn it down a bit) and we swim really fast. I think we’ll get to 20 km / h. Speed. This boat is the newest and the best. Not even I’ve had to work with something like that, but it’s all very clear and simple, ”said Algimantas Česnaitis, a captain from Kaunas, who sailed from Kaunas after docking in Zapyškis.
When the catamaran engine with a displacement of 2.8 liters and 110 kW is started, its operation inside is barely audible.
Mayor V.Makūnas emphasized that only the experimental swimming of “Zapyškis” was carried out today. According to the planned procedure, a ferry that is made to order and named by a non-standard decision will be tested, evaluated and only then will the final documents be signed. Passenger catamaran sailing should start next season. It is likely to start in May and end in October.
The transfer from Zapyškis to Kulautuva will take about 10 minutes.
The Vilkija ship, which sailed from Kaunas to Vilkija on weekends, whose route is also supported by the Kaunas District Municipality, also became very popular this summer.
V. Makūnas stated that there should be even more ships in the Nemunas. By 2022, when Kaunas and the Kaunas district become the European Capital of Culture, an exhibition hall with a floating garden should appear near Zapyškis. It is planned to adapt a disused excavator for this purpose. Private investors are also considering tourist boats in the Nemunas.
According to Vladimir Vinokurov, head of the Inland Waterways Directorate, despite the hydrological drought and difficult boating conditions this year, the number of people wishing to own private boats was growing and the boating season was fully navigable.
The season can last until November 7. And subsequent shipping is possible, only the roads are no longer marked. In the future, as the Nemunas is more beautiful, it is expected that it will be sailed all season.
“The further away, the more Lithuanians realize that they have invaluable assets and that those assets need to be used and exploited.
This year the high-speed boat “Raketa” started, sailing from Kaunas to Nida. She did not sail for only a week, because the shallow depth was moving, a rare phenomenon. In 5 days, we quickly cleared that shallow depth several hundred meters. In the Kaunas lagoon we have the Mažukna boat sailing towards the Kadagiai valley. Some smaller boats. Our ship “Vilkija” sails between Kaunas and Vilkija for the second season. We have a water taxi from Kaunas to Nevėžys, with capacity for 12 passengers. The number of boats in the waters of the Kaunas region is growing. Many ships that will start sailing in the Nemunas in the future, I believe, will be privately owned, ”said V. Vokokurov, assuring that currently the transport of heavy cargo is not possible only in the Nemunas.
Photo by Erik Ovcharenko / 15 min photo / Director General of SE “Directorate of Inland Waterways” Vladimir Vinokurov
When asked what is the biggest obstacle for business representatives to invest in water tourism, maritime transport, he replied that the reason provided by the study. The main reason is the mentality of the people.
“So it’s not the bottom situation, the amount of water, the weather, but basically the need. People, unfortunately, have drifted off the rivers, sailing, they no longer see the benefits: they drive cars. Now we begin to remember that there is such a unique vehicle, “explained V. Vinokurov.
When asked if she saw any potential unexploited routes in the Kaunas region, she said she was not alone.
“We have a great castle in Panemunė. The section from Kaunas to Šilutė is not used. Entrepreneurs are considering, planning. It will be a full day trip through the Nemunas, going down at certain places, visiting the castle. This requires municipalities to complete infrastructure management so that the docks are properly prepared. We can also do thematic trips, we do not use boats for children’s education, it would be possible to visit the cultural objects of the Kaunas district on boats, ”said V. Vinokurov.
In 2017, the government granted status to Kulautuvai, Kačerginė and part of the Zapyškis tourist area.
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