The American Chamber of Commerce called for strengthening the protection of the Black Sea port infrastructure

The business community emphasizes that international partners must urgently help protect the Odesa region and the port infrastructure of the Black Sea.

This was reported in the Chamber’s appeal.

The businessmen noted that the Russian Federation continues to destroy and humiliate American business in Ukraine. In particular, the latest missile and drone attacks in the region:

• led to injuries and deaths of port workers and ship crews;

• damaged ports, energy facilities, grain silos and commercial vessels;

• reduced the operation of terminals by up to 50%, some of them are stopped, most are running on generators;

• caused large-scale power outages and additional costs for the use of generators;

• damaged power plants and power grids that require urgent repair

• limited rail connections with ports;

• caused downtime of commercial vessels and the accrual of demurrage.

The Chamber noted that the current situation carries a direct risk of disrupting global supply chains, which will have “far-reaching consequences for international markets and food security.” In particular, this will lead to rising food prices and worsening hunger indicators in vulnerable countries.

It is difficult to assess the losses of grain and oilseed exporters in real time, but they are currently estimated at hundreds of millions of US dollars per month.

“Without a significant strengthening of air and maritime defense systems, both Ukrainian and international businesses will face critical operational challenges, including the inability to charter ships and obtain insurance coverage for ships, crews and cargo,” the businessmen added.

USM previously reported that the Odesa port is still without electricity: stevedoring companies are operating from generators.