Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have restarted their services to Ukraine’s key Black Sea ports since the Russian invasion.
Hapag-Lloyd has started a sea shuttle service between Constanta and Chernomorsk, while Maersk, in cooperation with Iteris, has launched the first deep-sea container service to Ukraine.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping plans to restart feeder service offerings to the port of Odesa, with the first call designated for mid-June this year.
Hapag-Lloyd has reportedly launched a new sea shuttle service between Ukraine and Romania, connecting the Fishport terminal in Chernomorsk with the DP World terminal in Constanta.
This service will start on 27 May, with departures after every five days.
The unique shuttle service has been designed to provide significant benefits, including schedule flexibility, the availability of reefer plugs, particularly for refrigerated cargo, and the avoidance of highly congested inland channels.
It further eliminates road weight limitations, permits smoother cargo planning and reduces local formalities and costs at the port of Constanta.
A couple of days earlier, Maersk declared the return of its deep-sea container service to Ukraine since the invasion.
In association with Ukraine’s feeder operator Iteris, Maersk is using a vessel with a more than 1,100 TEU capacity to link the port of Chornomorsk with Constanta.
This service indicates a major milestone, helping restore a crucial trade link that had been disrupted.
According to Daniil Melnychenko of Informall BG, an Odessa-based consultancy, the service is likely to double in volume in the coming months as more shipping lines participate and additional vessels are added.
This could help facilitate direct shipping from Turkey and Egypt to Ukraine, bypassing Romania.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping also plans to resume feeder services at the port of Odesa in June of this year.
The service will operate between the ports of Tekirdag and Odesa, with the first call fixed for mid-June.
MSC will emerge as the first-ever international container line that would re-establish its services to Odesa since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Before the war, MSC operated two feeder services to Odesa, significantly contributing to the Ukrainian seaport’s container traffic.
The Turkish shipping firm Akkon has initiated feeder services to Chornomorsk with the help of its vessels.
Akkon, the company that has operated services to the port of Izmail since the start of the war, is likely to use its established presence to transfer massive volumes to larger vessels with improved scheduling.
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