Interest in Georgia's port infrastructure up 250% amid Ukraine war

The Regional Head of Maersk Sealand also said despite the fact that the corridor to Georgia had “great potential”, the country would not be able to “fully serve” the cargos that previously were transported through Ukraine and Russia. Photo: APM Terminals Poti/Facebook

Agenda.ge, 29 Mar 2022 - 12:14, Tbilisi,Georgia

The interest in Georgia's port infrastructure has increased by 250 percent since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, mainly from Northern European and Chinese customers, Irakli Danelia, the Head of Business Development at Maersk Sealand in the Black Sea Region, told business media outlet bm.ge on Tuesday. 

Danelia said the reason for the increased interest was Ukrainian Black Sea ports’ termination of accepting commercial ships after the first week of Russia’s invasion of the country that started last month. Ukraine was the “largest player” in the region with a 37 percent share with Russia’s Novorossiysk seaport subjected to sanctions due to the conflict, the shipping company representative added. 

There are significant shifts in the Black Sea region. Consequently, certain opportunities arise as well. Interest in Georgia as a transit country has intensified,” Danelia told bm.ge.

He also pointed out scepticism was observed from companies that previously used the Tans-Siberian corridor, with the businesses currently using a multimodal corridor involving several countries in an approach that is “new to them.” 

The Regional Head of Maersk Sealand also said despite the fact that the corridor to Georgia had “great potential”, the country would not be able to “fully serve” the cargos that previously were transported through Ukraine and Russia. 

The importance of high carrying capacity of Georgia’s logistics corridor was also highlighted by Danelia while answering a question about the absence of a deep seaport in the country.