Hapag-Lloyd resumes sea routes to Ukraine.

International commerce - Hapag-Lloyd resumes sea routes to Ukraine.

Hapag-Lloyd, the German shipping company situated in Hamburg, has now started transporting cargo through the Ukrainian seaport once again. They confirmed this news on a Thursday that they have been providing a smaller container ship to transport agricultural items like sunflower oil and grain with the help of a third party since the previous week. This vessel, containing a capacity of 1,100 standard containers (TEU), will ply a route between the Romanian port of Constanta and the Ukrainian seaport of Tschornomorsk for five days a week.

A Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson clarified that they've never ceased their service, but now they're sailing in the region again. Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many seaports have faced partial to complete inaccessibility. At first, Russian president Vladimir Putin obstructed the usage of seaports for several months. Following this, only the export of agricultural goods was permitted through a deal facilitated by the United Nations and Turkey. However, this arrangement was permitted to lapse in the summer of 2023. On the other hand, the export trade has been operating through land routes.

Ukraine announced a safe corridor for trade vessels since last August. The Ukrainian military has been able to repel Russian warships, which have periodically fired rockets and drones against the port facilities since then, through the use of sea drones and anti-ship missiles. Ukraine boasts of having exported around 15 million tons of goods through the Black Sea in the closing months of the last year. A total of 469 ships have docked at the three Black Sea ports of Odessa, Tschornomorsk, and Piwdennyj.

Despite these efforts, Ukraine's export volume still lags far behind their pre-invasion levels. In the year 2021, approximately 100 million tons of goods were exported through their sea ports. However, the Azov Sea ports of Mariupol and Berdjansk currently face occupation by Russian troops.

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1. Despite the challenging sea route due to conflicts, Hapag-Lloyd, based in Hamburg, Germany, resumed foreign trade with Ukraine.
2. The resumption of sea routes by Hapag-Lloyd is significant as many seaports in Ukraine faced inaccessibility due to the war with Russia.
3. The German shipping company is using a smaller container ship to transport agricultural items, such as sunflower oil and grain, between Constanta, Romania, and Tschornomorsk, Ukraine, five days a week.
4. The Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupted the use of seaports for several months, but trade continued through land routes to some extent.
5. However, the export volume through Ukraine's sea ports still lags behind their pre-invasion levels, with only 15 million tons of goods exported in the closing months of 2022.
6. Meanwhile, NDR (a publishing house in Hamburg) reported on the tough return to normality in snow and ice, fewer unauthorized entries due to controls, a trial against a BND employee, and an arrangement between Rheinmetall and BVB generating buzz.
7. In contrast, theAzure Lane, a strategic sea route between Russia and China, has seen increased shipping activity amidst political tensions with the West.

• Tough return to normality in snow and ice
• Fewer unauthorized entries: Domino effect through controls
• Trial against BND employee from mid-December
• Arrangement generates buzz: Rheinmetall becomes backer of BVB