U.S. equipment is helping the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Odesa Port Authority protect and maintain the Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor, which has so far shipped approximately 850 ships and 52 million tons of grain and cargo that will feed the world and support Ukraine’s economy, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said.
“It’s great to be back in the thriving and courageous port city of Odesa, world-renowned for its rich cultural heritage. Even in the face of Russia’s daily attacks, Odesa stands firm on the Black Sea,” she said at the Black Sea Security Forum in Odesa.
The U.S. Ambassador said she regularly visits Odesa, meeting with local authorities, border guards, port workers and Odessans. These meetings allow her to form an idea of the problems facing the city and prove the determination of the residents to protect the city and its ports.
In January-May 2024, Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) transported 75.4 million tons of cargo, up 30% from the same period in 2023, the UZ press service said on Monday.
About half of all cargo (38 million tons) was transported for export, which is 57% more than in January-May 2023, the report said.
“We ensure stable operation and transport commercial cargo in full. According to the results of five months, we have quite significant indicators both in total transportation volumes and in the strategic export traffic for the country. In particular, we increased grain exports by 39% compared to last year. We are ready to continue to fully meet the country’s economy and business transportation needs,” the statement quotes Yevhen Liashchenko, Chairman of the Board of UZ, as saying.
In January-May 2024, the volume of transportation in domestic traffic increased by 6.7% compared to January-May 2023 to 32.9 million tons. Cargo imports increased by 68.5% to 4.3 million tons, while exports increased by 57% to 38 million tons.
As noted, iron and manganese ore led the way in the transportation volumes for the period under review – 19.3 million tons; grain cargo – 18.8 million tons; coal – 11.5 million tons; and building materials – 10.8 million tons.
Earlier it was reported that in January-April 2024, UZ increased the volume of cargo transportation by 28.7% compared to the same period in 2023 to 59.9 million tons, while in the export direction this figure increased by 48.8% to 30.4 million tons.
Since August 2023, the sea corridor created by the Ukrainian Navy has exported 50 million tons of cargo, with 1,737 vessels handled in ports, the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure (Ministry of Reconstruction) reports.
“50 million tons of cargo were exported through the Ukrainian sea corridor in 9 months. Despite constant attacks by Russians, Ukrainian port workers managed to handle 1737 vessels,” the Ministry said in a Facebook post on Saturday, while former Deputy Prime Minister and head of the Ministry of Recovery Oleksandr Kubrakov said that agricultural products accounted for 35 million tons.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the government, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, international partners and all port industry workers, it was possible to establish stable exports of Ukrainian agricultural products by sea, the report said.
The Facebook page of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) reports that the Black Sea ports have reached a record volume of cargo handling.
“Starting with the first vessel Joseph Shulte, which sailed through the Ukrainian corridor on August 16, 2023, Ukrainian Black Sea ports have handled this record volume of cargo despite the enemy’s constant attacks on our critical infrastructure. This is 1737 vessels handled!” the USPA said in a statement.
Last Thursday, former Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Yuriy Vaskov announced that exports through the sea corridor had reached 50 million tons.
The head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), Yuriy Lytvyn, said that the results of the Ukrainian “grain corridor” were almost one and a half times higher than the Black Sea Grain Initiative. According to him, the rate of grain cargo transportation for eight months is already 10% higher than the results of the grain initiative for the year.
Since August 2023, the sea corridor created by the Ukrainian Navy has exported 50 million tons of cargo, according to Yuriy Vaskov, former Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure (Ministry of Reconstruction).
“According to my information, exports via the grain corridor have already reached 50 million tons,” Vaskov said at the Grain Ukraine-2024 conference on Thursday.
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade reported that from August to May 10, 45 million tons of cargo were exported to 44 countries through the grain corridor.
Last Tuesday, the head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA), Yuriy Lytvyn, said that the results of the Ukrainian “grain corridor” were almost one and a half times higher than those of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. According to him, the rate of grain cargo transportation over eight months is already 10% higher than the results of the grain initiative for the year.
Ukrainian ports handled 37.7 million tons in January-April, up 1.7 times compared to the same period in 2023, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) reported on Facebook on Wednesday.
In April, port operators handled 9.9 million tons of cargo in seaports, almost twice as much as in the same period in 2023, the USPA said in a statement.
It is indicated that the largest share in April is the processing of grain cargo – 6.3 million tons against 3.9 million tons in 2023.
The cargo turnover of the Black Sea ports, thanks to the Ukrainian sea corridor, amounted to 7.7 million tons in April, of which 5.1 million tons were the products of Ukrainian farmers, the report says.
Earlier it was reported that since August 2023, the sea corridor created by the Navy has exported almost 45 million tons of cargo to 44 countries.
Since the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has exported 3.7 million tons of cargo through the Danube ports, of which 2.5 million tons are grains and oil, said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.
“Despite the record volumes of the Ukrainian Sea Corridor, the Danube ports have growth potential,” he said.
According to Kubrakov, in particular, the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company has started offering container delivery to the Danube ports of Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and the Romanian port of Constanta, bypassing the border with Poland.
Interfax-Ukraine does not have comparative information on the volume of exports through Danube ports for the same period in 2023, but it is known that in February last year they handled 2.2 million tons of cargo, in March – 2.8 million tons, and for the whole year – 29 million tons.
The day before, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced Ukraine’s intention to expand the export capacity of the Danube cluster from 33 million tons of cargo in 2023 to 35-40 million tons.
