Maersk launches the first container service to Ukrainian ports since the beginning of the war

Maersk is launching the first container service to the ports of Greater Odesa after the outbreak of a full-scale war. It is reported by The Loadstar.

In cooperation with the Ukrainian feeder operator Iteris, the company is using a 1100+ TEU vessel to connect the port of Chornomorsk with the Romanian container terminal Constanta.

“In April, Iteris and Maersk delivered empty containers for exporters and brought full cargo containers to Constanta for transshipment. Arkas, CMA CGM, Evergreen, and MSC share space in the service,” said Danylo Melnichenko of Odesa-based Informall BG.

He expects the volume of shipments to double in the coming months as more shipping lines join the service. With more vessels, it is likely that the service will bypass the Romanian gate and instead send containers directly to Ukraine from Egypt and Turkey, as was common before the war.

Iteris and Maersk also cooperated on barge services, transporting containers between another Ukrainian port on the Danube, Reni, and Constanta, but the launch of the deep-water service led to its cancellation, with the last voyage expected to be made on June 15.

Meanwhile, the Turkish shipping company Akkon has launched a feeder service with its own vessels in Chornomorsk.

As a reminder, on April 3, 2024, the first container ship after the full-scale Russian invasion sailed to one of the ports of Odesa region by sea.

Tags: Ukraine