Sea

From 3 February 2025, A2B-online, WEC Lines, Tailwind Shipping Lines and Danser Group are launching the new barge line MDC (Moerdijk – Duisburg Corridor). The route will be operated by the vessel ms TRANQUILO with a frequency of twice a week between the port of Moerdijk (CCT) and the Duisburg Gateway Terminal (DGT). The schedule includes departures from Moerdijk on Mondays and Wednesdays, and in the opposite direction on Tuesdays and Fridays. More frequencies are planned in the future.

On 21 January 2025, the Port of Rijeka Authority signed a contract with Kolektor Koling d.o.o. from Slovenia for the construction of a new entry-exit point in the western part of the Rijeka Basin. The cost of the project is 831,328.01 euros including VAT, and the work is planned to be completed in 147 days. The new point will be located at the end of the internal port road connecting the western part of the port and the future Rijeka Gateway container terminal with the state road DC 403.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko held a meeting with Chairman of the Board of Directors of Maersk Robert Maersk Uggla, during which they discussed potential investments in the modernization of the country’s transport infrastructure. According to the government representative, concession projects in ports aimed at improving trade logistics and attracting private capital are currently being actively implemented.

On 21 January 2025, Port of Hanko Ltd and ROSTOCK PORT GmbH jointly applied for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to modernise maritime infrastructure within the TEN-T network. The aim of the project is to strengthen the long-standing cooperation between the ports and improve the Baltic Sea route on the Rostock-Hanko line.

On January 14, the Ukrainian shipping company Ukrferri opened a regular ferry service on the Varna (Bulgaria) – Batumi (Georgia) route. The first voyage on the line was the ferry Vilnius under the Panama flag, which can simultaneously transport 50 universal railway cars and 50 TIR heavy-duty trucks. After a successful round trip, the ship is planned to be used on a weekly basis.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is introducing new regulations for the carriage of charcoal on merchant ships. They will be voluntary from January 2025 and mandatory from January 2026.

PSA International reached a historic milestone, handling 100.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) at its terminals worldwide in 2024. This is the first time in the company’s history that annual transhipment volumes have exceeded the 100 million TEU mark. The flagship terminal in Singapore handled a record 40.9 million TEU (+5.5%), while PSA’s overseas terminals added 59.2 million TEU (+5.7%). The group’s combined volume growth was 5.6% compared to the previous year.

KazMunayGas subsidiary Kazmortransflot has signed a headline agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports Group from the UAE. The document provides for the construction of two container ships with a capacity of over 500 TEU, specially designed for work in the Caspian Sea.

In 2024, ASCO ferries and Ro-Pax vessels transported 39,734 vehicles and 37,337 railcars, demonstrating high demand for combined transportation. The company’s general cargo ships delivered 911 thousand tons of various cargo during the year.

In 2024, Ukrainian seaports handled 97.2 million tons of cargo, significantly exceeding the figures for previous years. According to the USPU, the main growth drivers were grain and ore cargo with transshipment volumes of 60.3 million tons and 18.5 million tons, respectively. Exports amounted to 88.1 million tons, and imports – 8.8 million tons.