German container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd has resumed freight service by sea to Ukraine, a company spokeswoman confirmed to dpa on Thursday.
The spokeswoman said that the company has been offering feeder service through a third-party provider since the beginning of the week.
As part of this service, a smaller container ship primarily transports agricultural goods such as sunflower oil and grain.
The ship, which has a capacity of 1100 standard containers (TEU), runs every five days between Constanța in Romania and the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk.
The Hapag-Lloyd spokeswoman emphasized that the company never stopped offering freigh service to Ukraine, but had shifted to using land routes in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022 and blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
Exports of Ukrainian agricultural products was temporarily allowed under a deal with Russia brokered by the UN and Turkey. But that deal expired in the summer of 2023.
Since last August, Kiev has independently designated a corridor for the safe passage of merchant ships from Ukrainian ports.
Since then, Russia has repeatedly attacked harbour facilities with missiles and drones. However, the Ukrainian army has so far successfully kept Russian ships at bay with naval drones and anti-ship missiles.
According to Ukraine, it was able to export almost 15 million tons of goods via the Black Sea in the final five months of last year.
A total of 469 freighters called at the three Black Sea ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdenny.
However, Ukrainian export volumes are still far below those before the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. In 2021, more than 100 million tonnes exported via all Ukrainian seaports.
Russian forces are currently occupying the Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov.
