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.
Denmark’s A.P. Moller – Maersk has announced that it is suspending all passage of its vessels through the Strait of Hormuz “until further notice” and warns of possible delays, route changes, and schedule changes for services calling at ports in the Arabian Gulf.
The decision was made against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in the situation in the region and growing threats to commercial shipping. Reuters reported that Maersk has also suspended voyages through the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, redirecting ships around the Cape of Good Hope.
Maersk is one of the world’s largest container carriers and port terminal operators.
According to industry statistics based on Alphaliner, Maersk’s share of the global container fleet in 2024 was about 14%.
One of the world leaders Danish transport and logistics company A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS, which stopped its ship calls to Ukraine since February last year after a full-scale Russian invasion, has resumed delivery of clients’ cargoes to the Ukrainian port of Reni from Constanta (Romania) by barge, the company’s official website says.
“Development in Ukraine remains in focus, as well as the implementation of solutions for our customers in terms of security,” it said.
According to it, Maersk is launching a new weekly barge service from Constanta port to Reni port on two routes – via Constanta/Danube Canal and the Black Sea with a transit time of approximately 1.5 days.
It is reported that the company’s system is updated and accepts reservations from customers with delivery to the port of Reni. Their implementation will be subject to the working capacities, subject to the proper documentation, including the legal adoption of the provision of Ukraine on the risks in the region.
The company advised to contact its local representatives for more detailed information about deliveries to the port of Reni.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, A.P. Moeller-Maersk AS decreased its net profit by 18.8% and revenue by 3.7%, which was worse than experts’ forecasts. Net income in October-December was $4.95 billion compared to $6.094 billion in the same period of the previous year. Revenue fell to $17.82 billion compared to $18.506 billion.
The average freight rate was down 3.5% for the fourth quarter of 2021, and freight volume fell 14%.
Maersk also stopped operations in the Russian market. All services in Russia ceased operations in the first quarter, and in the third quarter the deal to sell a 30.75% stake in Global Ports Investments was closed. The process of selling the remaining assets – two warehouses and four tugboats – continued.
Maersk generated EBITDA of $36.81 billion and EBIT of $30.86 billion in 2022.
The sole participant of Maersk LLC has decided to liquidate the company, according to materials on Fedresurs.
Creditors can file claims with the company within two months from the date of publication of the announcement in the State Registration Bulletin. Natalia Polukeeva has been appointed head of the liquidation commission.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities as of November 2, 100% of the registered capital of Maersk LLC is owned by the founder – Danish Maersk Line Agency Holding A/S (the marine container transportation division of Maersk).
Maersk LLC (St. Petersburg) was registered through the reorganization of CJSC Maersk in 2014. According to the SPARK-Interfax system, the company’s revenue to RAS in 2021 was 845.9 million rubles.
As reported, the Danish transport and logistics company A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S in March announced the termination of its operations in Russia and notified Russian customers that it had begun winding down its business activities in Russia.
Through APM Terminals (APMT, a terminal subsidiary) Maersk owned a 30.75% stake in Global Ports, the largest operator of container terminals in Russia, and Delo Group closed a deal to buy that stake from APMT in September.
“The process of selling the remaining assets is ongoing,” Maersk said in the company’s Q3 2022 report Thursday.
According to financial reporting, Maersk’s revenue rose 37% year-on-year in Q3 2022 to $22.77 billion, while profit in July-September was $8.88 billion compared to $5.44 billion in the prior year.
The Ukrainian subsidiary of A.P. Moeller-Maersk Group hopes that cargo flow from/to Ukraine would increase, the company said in a press release spread among journalists at a meeting of the first vessel of the ME3 service from Maersk in the TIS container terminal on Wednesday. “Maersk Line Ukraine annually delivers the flow of containers at the level of 200,000 TEU to Ukraine, while it is less than 1% of the total volume of transportation of the company around the world. However, the operator expects to increase cargo traffic,” the company said in the press release.
The company is confident that the cooperation of TIS with Maersk will be long-term and large-scale one.
“TIS has the best port and rail infrastructure in Ukraine, which is very important for our customers,” the press service of the company said, citing General Director of MaerskLine Ukraine Roman Koloyanov as saying.
As reported, ships of Denmark’s Maersk Line, a large global container operator, would not enter the Odesa maritime merchandise port from April 1, 2018.
