Ukraine hopes to resume seaborne container and ferry shipments in two-three weeks

MOSCOW. March 15 (Interfax) - The first container shipments along the "Ukrainian marine corridor" could be made in two or three weeks, Ukrainian media reported, citing Deputy Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Minister Yury Vaskov.

"All five container terminals are ready to handle [containers]. Almost all of them are engaged in handling agricultural and other products. But containers are a priority and they are holding negotiations. I hope that we'll get the first calls in two to three weeks," Vaskov said at a roundtable on Thursday, a video of which was posted on social media.

He said terminals and container lines will likely restore operations gradually. Shipments will being from feeder ships, and container lines will follow.

The marine corridor began operating round-the-clock last week after obtaining the necessary permits and has potential to expand by at least 20%, Vaskov said. In February, the corridor saw a record 8 million tonnes in export and import traffic, 60-65% of which consisted of agricultural products.

More than 1,000 vessels carrying about 31 million tonnes of cargo have sailed the corridor since it opened, Vaskov said, adding that this was almost equivalent to the level of the Black Sea grain corridor.

Infrastructure Development Ministry also expects automobile ferry services to resume in two weeks and train ferry services to resume in two months.

Vaskov also said that container services are already operational at the Danube River ports of Reni and Izmail. The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company is also ready to ship containers up the Danube, but there have not been any such shipments yet.

Vaskov said 1.8 million tonnes of cargo went through the Danube in February, which is about 50% of the maximum reached in 2023, and together with the marine corridor shipments totalled almost 10 million tonnes in February.