Almost two-thirds of the freight volumes handled by Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port since early 2025 were grain exports.
The relevant statement was made by Viacheslav Bezruk, the newly-appointed Director of Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port State Enterprise, in an interview with Ukrinform.
According to Bezruk, due to the seasonal decline and general slowdown in freight traffic flows in the region, some areas of the port’s activities have to be reoriented.
“We have focused on what is critical for Ukraine’s economy, namely ensuring stable food exports. Traditionally, the basis of freight traffic here is grain, a strategically important commodity not only for our state, but also for the global market. In the first four months of 2025, a total of 1.3 million tonnes of cargo was handled, of which 826.2 thousand tonnes were grain crops. This is almost 64% of the total transshipment volumes,” Bezruk explained.
In his words, the enterprise will continue to focus on the development of bulk cargo handling as one of the key areas in modern port logistics. Given the increasing role of Ukraine as an agrarian state and an important supplier of raw resources to global markets, expanding the capacity in this segment is not only strategically important but vital.
Another priority is the restoration of the towing fleet. Chornomorsk Port aims to regain its leading position in the provision of towing services. Until recently, the percentage of state-owned tugboats used did not exceed 25%. Among those allowed to operate, there were only two state-owned tugboats, Stanislav Strebko and Tigris. The rest of vessels were privately owned.
“We immediately started to tackle this imbalance. On May 16, I signed an order for the enterprise to put the tugboat Kapitan Nezavitin into operation. This opens up new opportunities for the enterprise to regain the share of the towing services market that had been lost to private operators in recent years. The state has all the resources to provide competitive services, and we are already demonstrating this in practice,” Bezruk emphasized.
A reminder that Chornomorsk Port is one of Ukraine’s most strategic maritime hubs. It is expected that the port’s restoration and development will be facilitated by a concession project designed for a period of 40 years. It covers two terminals, container and multipurpose, with a cargo potential of more than 5 million tonnes annually.
Source: Over 800,000 t of grain shipped via Chornomorsk Port since early 2025
