The international transportation and logistics group A.P. Moller—Maersk has temporarily suspended maritime container shipping through the terminal of Chornomorsk Fish Port LLC in the Odesa region.
The decision was made amid a deteriorating security situation and intensified Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure. However, this does not mean a complete suspension of Maersk’s operations in Ukraine.
“Due to the current situation affecting our operations, the feeder operator is unable to continue providing services to Ukraine via the Black Sea Fishing Port,” Maersk’s Ukrainian division reported.
The service has been suspended until further notice. The company did not explicitly cite the Russian attacks as the reason for this decision; however, the announcement came after a series of strikes on ports and civilian vessels in the Odesa region.
The vessel MEDKON MIRA V.629S, which was scheduled to deliver imported containers to Chornomorsk, will be redirected to the Romanian port of Constanta for unloading.
It is also planned to reroute shipments destined for Chornomorsk that are already in Port Said, Egypt, or en route there, to Constanta. Customers for whom unloading in Romania is not suitable are advised to submit a request to change the destination.
“Chornomorsk Fish Port” is not a term referring to a fishing harbor in the everyday sense, but rather the official name of a separate enterprise and a multifunctional cargo terminal in the village of Burlachya Balka near Chornomorsk.
The company was previously known as “Illichivsk Sea Fishing Port,” and in 2018 it adopted its current legal name—LLC “Black Sea Fishing Port.”
Despite its historical name, the enterprise operates a full-fledged container terminal. It has deep-water berths, Liebherr container handlers, mobile cranes, storage yards, and truck and rail weighing facilities.
The Black Sea Fishing Port is an independent operator and should not be confused with the state-owned seaport of Chornomorsk. The main deep-water port of Chornomorsk and other ports in the Greater Odesa region continue to operate, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The company has suspended only maritime shipments through this specific terminal. Maersk continues to offer cargo delivery to Ukraine via land and multimodal routes, including through Romania and Poland.
Rerouting containers through Constanța may increase transit times and shipping costs. After unloading in Romania, cargo will need to be transported to Ukraine by road or rail.
For Ukrainian importers, this means additional costs for land logistics, changes to documentation, and a possible delay in receiving goods.
At the same time, this decision enhances Constanta’s role as a regional transshipment hub for Ukrainian cargo.
Prior to Maersk, Kernel, a major Ukrainian producer and exporter of agricultural products, had suspended operations at one of its facilities in Chornomorsk following a series of attacks.
However, Ukrainian authorities have not imposed a general ban on ships calling at ports in the Greater Odesa area. Decisions to change routes are made by individual carriers and shipowners with the safety of crews, vessels, and cargo in mind.
A.P. Moller — Maersk is a Danish transportation and logistics group founded in 1904. The company provides maritime container shipping services and manages port terminals, warehouses, and land-based logistics infrastructure.
Maersk operates in approximately 130 countries, serves over 100,000 customers, and has a fleet of more than 700 container ships and a network of 67 terminals in 42 countries. The group employs more than 100,000 people. Thanks to its scale, Maersk is one of the key players in global container trade, and changes to its routes can significantly affect the timing, cost, and availability of international shipments.
