Revival in the container transportation market in Ukraine

The year 2024 was a successful one for Ukraine’s ports not only because of the achievement of pre-war export levels, but also in terms of the prospects that are opening up due to the resumption of container transportation, USM reports. At the same time, these processes are not as easy and quick as they might seem at first glance.
Before the outbreak of a full-scale war, the container shipping market in Ukraine did not occupy a leading position compared to bulk shipping. In 2021, seaports handled 12 million tons of containerized cargo. According to the USPA, then container handling reached 1 million 21 thousand TEU. In particular, the port of Odesa handled 671.5 thousand TEU, Pivdennyi – 238.6 thousand TEU, and Chornomorsk – 112.2 thousand TEU. These figures were caused by the pandemic, which closed major global ports, which in turn affected Ukrainian terminals. A separate problem before the war was the shortage of containers, which led to an increase in transportation costs and freight rates. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, due to the blockade of ports and the occupation of territories, container terminals in Ukraine have suspended their operations or reformatted as export terminals for other types of cargo.
Only two years later, in March 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure announced that Ukraine plans to gradually resume containerized shipping. The ministry added that all five container terminals are ready to handle containers. Almost all of them were previously involved in transshipment of agricultural and other products.
This option significantly reduces the leverage of road delivery. Container transportation by sea has many advantages, especially when it comes to large volumes of products. For Ukraine, this is a positive wake-up call to revitalize the entire logistics sector. The cost of container shipping insurance has remained roughly the same in recent years.