Inbound sailings to Black Sea ports are up 16% compared to the period before February 2022
Commercial vessels made 10,550 calls to Black Sea ports in Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova in the second quarter according to vessel tracking data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
Georgia and Ukraine are the only countries whose ports have recorded a fall in inbound sailings, largely due to the closure of Ukraine’s major terminals. Nevertheless, port calls have been rising since April as its Danube ports increase capacity.
Seaborne trade has increased in Moldova and Romania, in part because of their role in moving supplies into and out of Ukraine.
Sanctions have altered the ownership patterns of vessels calling at Black Sea terminals.
Ships owned by companies based in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany have limited their calls to Russia.
German-owned vessels, for example, recorded 68 arrivals in the first quarter, dropping to just four in the three months that followed.
Three bulk carriers called at Taman and Tuapse in April while one product tanker landed in Novorossiysk in June. All the vessels were flagged to Liberia at the time of arrival.
Shipowners from Greece, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all increased exposure to above pre-invasion levels.
Greek-owned tankers have stepped in to lift Russian-origin cargoes.
