Business requests to exempt the ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi from rent
31.08.2026 - 12:35
Market participants emphasize that ship calls to Great Odesa are almost non-existent, while operators continue to bear the costs of infrastructure maintenance and restoration after shelling.
This was reported by the European Business Association.
EBA appealed to the government and relevant departments with a proposal to return the preferential mechanism for charging rent for state infrastructure in the ports of Great Odesa for the period of its actual blockade.
Since July 2026, the work of ports and terminals located in them has been significantly complicated due to increased attacks on ships and port infrastructure. The number of ship calls is almost non-existent, but port operators continue to spend significant funds on maintaining labor teams, infrastructure and special equipment.
At the same time, ports regularly suffer damage and require additional financial resources for restoration. With the current volume of work, these costs are not covered by revenues from cargo transshipment.
To solve the problem, the association requests amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 634. A similar mechanism was already applied in 2022–2023: then port operators could be completely exempted from rent for facilities that were not actually used in the reporting period. The basis was certificates from property balance holders and relevant decisions of the lessor.
After the resumption of the work of the ports of Great Odesa within the Ukrainian Corridor in 2024, the application of this mechanism in Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny was discontinued. The privilege remained only for the ports of Mykolaiv, Olvia and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, which continued to be blocked.
The business community believes that the return of the preferential mechanism will reduce the financial burden on port operators and will help them maintain the readiness of the ports to resume full-fledged work after the stabilization of the security situation.
As USM recently wrote, Ukraine exported only a third of its potential agricultural output in August.
