The Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority continues negotiations on the resumption of ferry transportation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine. This was announced by Yuriy Lytvyn, Head of the USPA, at the Grain Storege Forum conference in Kyiv.
“Negotiations on the resumption of ferry transportation from Baku to Ukraine and transit through all countries are at the final stage. We hope that the ferry service will start working in the near future,” Lytvyn said.
The operation of the ferry line will depend on the market: crop yields, the work of the entire agricultural sector, the range of cargoes for export and import, and the functioning of the economy in general.
“You can be calm about the ports. They will operate 24/7. We have everything we need for this. We hope that the money we earn together will be invested in the port infrastructure and it will be quickly restored,” Lytvyn emphasized.
The Ports Authority has set itself the priority task of restoring the port infrastructure to at least the pre-war level over the next two years. This requires UAH 9-9.5 billion.
In 2016, the Ministry of Economic Development of Ukraine announced a complete cessation of transit of Ukrainian goods through Russia. One of the alternatives was the new Silk Road. This route includes ferry crossings of the Black and Caspian Seas (Ilyichevsk – Batumi and Alyat – Aktau Port) and was supposed to be competitive with the traditional land route.
In January 2024, it was announced that the EU would allocate €10 billion for the Trans-Caspian Corridor bypassing Russia. The Ukrainian ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk are also included in the maritime segment of the Trans-Caspian Corridor.