Ukraine seaports see halt to shipments over security risks
Taras Vysotskyi announced that vessel calls to Ukrainian seaports were halted (Photo: jd210848 / Pixabay)
Commercial cargo vessels have ceased docking at Ukrainian seaports due to the deteriorating security situation, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi announced on July 23.
He stated that the government is working on measures to ensure export stability, adding that four or five ships called at ports on July 21, but ship calls stopped completely by July 22.
"We as a state have not imposed any restrictions on our end; this was the decision of the shipowners," Vysotskyi said.
The uninterrupted operation of the sea corridor remains of strategic importance to national security, the minister noted, adding that the government is already developing measures to facilitate the resumption of shipping without disclosing specific details.
All proposals must first face approval before the authorities announce any decisions, Vysotskyi stated, adding that the highly dynamic situation makes it too early to assess any long-term export impacts, while urging producers to avoid rushing into sales unless absolutely necessary.
"If the situation is not critical, our recommendation to any producer is to avoid rushing into decisions, as we have plenty of storage capacity to accommodate the projected spring crop harvest," the head of the agency emphasized.
Denmark-based shipping company Maersk announced the suspension of its services through the Chornomorsk port on July 21, after Russia intensified missile and drone strikes on civilian shipping in the Black Sea. Maersk is the second major company to suspend operations in Chornomorsk in July. Kernel Holding, Ukraine’s largest grain exporter, last week also stopped operations at the port after a series of Russian strikes.
Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s maritime export routes since its full-scale invasion, but in recent weeks strikes on cargo ships and deep-water ports that handle much of Ukraine’s grain exports have intensified.
A civilian vessel flying the Marshall Islands flag sustained damage after Russian forces attacked port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast on July 17.
Russian forces also struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged civilian grain ship, the Golden Leo, near Odesa on July 19, killing ten people.
A Liberian-flagged propane tanker, the Gas Lisbon, was struck roughly 20 nautical miles off Romania's coast. The vessel had departed the port of Alexandria, Egypt, and was headed to the Ukrainian port of Reni.
A Russian drone strike targeted the bulk carrier Golden Rose in the Black Sea on the night of July 22.
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