In Ukraine, 50 vessels remain blocked since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. This information was reported by Interfax-Ukraine, citing Andriy Klymenko, the editor-in-chief of the industry publication BlackSeaNews.
According to Klymenko, most of the ships are blocked in Mykolaiv ports—29 of them. Another 14 are in Kherson, 2 in Odessa, and 5 remain in the temporarily occupied Mariupol. Most of these vessels belong to Greek and Turkish companies.
Klymenko also clarified that, according to their publication's data, as of February 24, 2022, 100 commercial ships were blocked in Black Sea and Azov Sea ports. However, by the end of last year, with the assistance of the UN, 50 ships had been cleared.
“These are large maritime vessels that came for cargo before the full-scale invasion but got stuck and still cannot leave. With the ships remaining in the occupied Mariupol ports, the situation seems hopeless for now,” commented the expert.
Klymenko also added that the fate of some ships left in Kherson after the explosion of the Kakhovka Dam is currently unknown. In his opinion, they may be lost or require repairs.