Some container lines have stopped calling at Ukrainian ports due to shelling

Global container lines that resumed operations in Ukrainian ports last year have suspended operations after the next round of shelling.

This was stated by the head of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, Oleksandr Semyrha, in an interview with LIGA.net.

“Unfortunately, we are very dependent on the security situation. Now, some large container lines that began to resume operations in our ports last year have suspended operations after the next round of shelling. Under such circumstances, we need to look for solutions that will compensate for these risks through insurance mechanisms,” said Oleksandr Semyrha.

However, according to him, some international companies continue to operate in Ukraine.

In particular, the USPA believes that Ukrainian ports need to focus on restoring transit potential. After all, the transshipment of transit cargo has significantly decreased since 2014, and with the start of the full-scale invasion, it was almost lost.

“Now we need to focus on offering high-quality competition to European ports. So that our ports are able to provide such a service and tariffs that would become an attractive alternative to ports operating in Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia. Then we can talk about increasing transit cargo traffic to Poland, Germany, the Baltic countries, etc., “- noted the head of the USPA.

We will recall that in April 2024, the container the vessel  “Pros Hope” from China entered the port of Great Odesa for the first time since the beginning of the war.

At the end of May last year, it became known that Maersk was launching the first container service to the ports of Great Odesa since the beginning of the full-scale war. Later, Hapag-Lloyd also resumed operations.

Also in February 2025, a vessel of the container giant CMA CGM made its first voyage to Odesa.

The photo is illustrative.