Ukraine Marks Milestone as Exports on Sea Corridor Top 200 Million Tons
Officials in Ukraine are highlighting a milestone, reporting that exports traveling along the sea corridor established in September 2023 have now topped 200 million tons. They note this is despite the repeated attacks by Russia both on commercial vessels and the ports’ infrastructure.
“The Ukrainian maritime corridor remains a key element of the national economy,” said Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba. “The state, together with industry experts, continues to work on strengthening the protection of port infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted logistics operations.”
Newly released data from the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine highlights that the total of 200 million tons included 118 million tons of grain. A total of more than 7,800 vessels is reported to have used the corridor, which follows the coastline to the west to reach Romania and then cross the Black Sea.
So far in 2026, the ports have already handled almost 35 million tons, which were shipped to 35 countries. This compares with 2025, when the posts achieved approximately 95 percent of plan, or a total of 86.2 million tons of cargo. While they fell just short of plan, exports exceeded the forecast of 81.8 million tons for the full year.
The bulk of the cargo is now moving through the three ports that comprise the Great Odesa district. However, Ukraine’s GMK Center reports that over 8.9 million tons of cargo were handled last year through the Danube ports of Izmail, Reni, and Ust-Dunaysk. The primary export continues to be grain, but the ports also handle raw materials and metal products.
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The Ministry emphasizes that the ports are continuing stable operations despite the war and constant security threats. They report that in April alone, there were more than 500 drone attacks on the country’s logistic infrastructure.
Kuleba noted that port workers, logisticians, sailors, dispatchers, engineers, and repair crews work under fire to restore damaged infrastructure and ensure the movement of vessels. He said since the start of the war in February 2022, 935 port infrastructure facilities and 191 commercial vessels have been damaged or partially destroyed. In addition, 255 civilians have been injured by the Russian attacks.