Strait of Tartary - Transportation

Transportation

Since 1973, a rail ferry operates across the strait, connecting the port of Vanino, Khabarovsk Krai on the mainland with Kholmsk on Sakhalin Island.

Looking at the map, one could think that the Strait of Tartary would provide a convenient connection for boats sailing from the Sea of Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk, e.g. from Vanino to Magadan. However, according to the SASCO that operates that shipping line, their ships rarely travel that way. The usual winter route from Vanino to Magadan is via Tsugaru Strait, and around Hokkaido; the usual summer route, is via La Pérouse Strait and around Sakhalin. Only when coming back from Magadan to Vanino with a low load and in good weather would the ships travel along the shortest route, i.e., via the Amur Liman, Nevelskoy Strait, and the Strait of Tartary proper (which, incidentally, SASCO calls the "Strait of Sakhalin" - Sakhalinsky Proliv).

A tunnel under the strait, to provide a road and/or rail connection between Sakhalin and the mainland, was begun under Joseph Stalin, but abandoned incomplete after his death. Renewed calls for either a tunnel or a bridge have been made by politicians in recent years.