The world’s leading container shipping company Maersk Group is launching the first container service to the ports of Greater Odesa after the outbreak of a full-scale war.
According to the publication, the company, in cooperation with the Ukrainian feeder operator Iteris, uses a vessel with a capacity of 1100+ TEU to connect the port of Chornomorsk with the Romanian container terminal Constanta.
“In April, Iteris and Maersk were in the process of delivering empty containers to exporters and sending full cargo containers to Constanta for transshipment. Arkas, CMA CGM, Evergreen and MSC share the space in the service,” said Danylo Melnichenko, a representative of Informall BG, a consulting company based in Odesa.
Melnichenko admits that over the next few months, the volume of shipments will double due to the involvement of more shipping companies in the transportation. With more vessels, the service is likely to bypass the Romanian gateway and allow direct shipments to Ukraine from Egypt and Turkey, as was the case before the war.
Iteris and Maersk also cooperated in barge transportation, transporting containers between the Danube port of Reni and Constanta. However, the launch of the deep-water service led to the cancellation of the route. It is expected that the last voyage in this direction will be made on June 15.
At the same time, the Turkish shipping company Akkon has launched a feeder service with its own vessels to Chornomorsk.
According to the head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), Yuriy Lytvyn, the ports of Greater Odesa have already received and dispatched 10 container ships, and this trend will continue. The agency is working on expanding and restoring the pre-war cargo nomenclature and further development.