Russia's Attacks Halt Shipping at Ukraine's Black Sea Ports

Ukraine's Black Sea ports have been suspended for shipping services due to recent Russian attacks on the coast, officials said Thursday.

The escalation in a region critical to global grain exports has driven up international wheat prices, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Ukraine is a major exporter of corn, wheat, colza, sunflower seeds and vegetable oil, with 90 percent of its commodity exports passing through Black Sea ports in and around Odesa.

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd shipping companies have halted operations at Chornomorsk, one of Ukraine’s three key deepwater terminals. ‘Recent missile and drone attacks in the Odesa region have significantly increased the operational and security risks,’ Hapag-Lloyd said in a comment to AFP.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriï Sybiga warned that the attacks are a threat to global food security, adding that Ukraine had called for a UN Security Council meeting on July 27. Russia has regularly targeted Odesa, but has recently intensified strikes on its ports, grain and sunflower oil terminals, and on commercial vessels in Ukrainian harbours.