Container shipping companies resume maritime transport to Ukraine ‣ WorldCargo News

Container shipping giants cautiously return to Ukraine via Black Sea feeder service linking Constanta to Chornomorsk.

Several major container shipping companies are cautiously resuming container transport to and from Ukraine via the Black Sea.

This is primarily facilitated through a feeder service established by the Ukrainian forwarder Iteris, connecting the Romanian port of Constanta with the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk, located south of the major Ukrainian port city of Odesa.

International shipping companies like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are booking slots on this service, which has already commenced.

Ukraine Business News reported last week that MSC plans to start its own container service between the Turkish port of Tekirdag and Odesa in mid-June. This would make MSC the first major international container shipping company to resume operations in Odesa since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Initially, the Russian war made sailing in Ukrainian seaports impossible, forcing companies to use inland waterway transport via the Danube. Later, the ‘grain deal’ between Russia and Ukraine temporarily allowed bulk shipments of grain by sea, until Russia cancelled the deal last year.

Ukraine then established a ‘maritime corridor,’ permitting bulk ships carrying grain to sail along the coast between Ukraine and Romania. This corridor proved effective, leading Ukraine to announce at the end of March its intention to restart container traffic using the same route.

International container shipping companies have not yet fully resumed Ukrainian traffic. The most enthusiastic response has come from Hapag-Lloyd, which began offering sailings from Chornomorsk (Fishport Terminal) to Constanta (DP World Terminal) last week, leveraging Iteris’ service. The German shipping company described this as a new ‘sea shuttle service’ and expressed excitement about offering it every five days.

Source: Nieuwsblad Transport