Ukrainian seaports handled almost 60 million tons of cargo since the beginning of the year

The port on the territory of Mykolaiv, October 2020, archival photo of NikVesti

In seven months of 2024, Ukrainian seaports processed 59.9 million tons of cargo.

This indicator was almost the same for the whole of last year — then the ports processed 62 million tons, the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine reported.

Only in July of this year, 7 million tons were transshipped, which is twice as much as the corresponding figure for 2023. Export of agricultural products to 46 countries reached 4.2 million tons.

Nikolaev ports and war

Currently, the sea ports of the Mykolaiv region are 90% ready for grain export, but without the consent of the Russians, the «grain corridor» will not be able to function, the head of the Mykolaiv RMA Vitalii Kim said. After all, Russia continues to shell Ochak daily from the territory of the Kinburn Spit, as it is trying to disrupt the inclusion of the Mykolaiv ports in the «grain agreement», the Southern Defense Forces reported.

Back in the summer of 2023, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the international community to expand the «grain corridor» to Mykolaiv ports. At the same time, the head of Mykolaiv Oblast Vitalii Kim reported that the sea ports of Mykolaiv region are 90% ready for grain export, but without the consent of the Russians, the grain corridor will not be able to function.

As you know, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said that Russia will not prevent the departure of Turkish ships from Mykolaiv Seaport and «Olvia». 29 ships are preparing to leave Mykolaiv ports.

In November 2022, the Ukrainian side officially appealed to the partners of the initiative for the safe transportation of agricultural products across the Black Sea with a proposal to extend the initiative for at least 1 year and to join the Mykolaiv port to it.

And in July 2023, the Kremlin announced the suspension of the «grain agreement» brokered by the UN and Turkey last July, which made it possible to unblock three Ukrainian ports for food exports. From that time, Russia began to inflict massive strikes on the port and grain infrastructure of Ukraine, attacking Odesa, Mykolaiv and other port cities.

At the same time, the indicators of the August export of grain from Ukraine in 2023 were at the level of the pre-war indicators of the export of grain by the Mykolaiv Sea Trade Port. For example, during 2021, the port exported about 12 million tons of grain.

Military expert, reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Roman Svitan, said that anti-aircraft missile complexes should be deployed along the coast from Mykolaiv to Reni in order to protect shipping from Russian invaders in the Black Sea.