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
Tweet 
Share
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.
The New Poti Seaport, an investment project into Georgia's largest Black Sea harbour, will employ approximately 200 people, Tamar Ioseliani, the Head of the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency has said. Ioseliani highlighted the new construction project at the seaport was an "extremely important" initiative that would increase the capacity of port infrastructure in the country.
Georgia’s prime minister Irakli Garibashvili has named transforming the country’s into a regional hub as one of the “main priorities” of his government, while launching the New Poti Seaport, a $93 million construction project in Georgia’s largest Black Sea harbour on Saturday.
The audit results of the International Port Security Programme shows that the United States considers Georgia a safe maritime trading partner, and the cargo and ships handled in Georgian ports are known to be safe in US ports, announces the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency.
United States Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton has made a port call in the Georgian Black Sea town of Batumi. Hamilton is the first US Coast Guard Cutter to visit the Black Sea since 2008.
A quadrilateral declaration on the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor has been signed by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Kazakhstan, with the agreement emphasising the importance of steps to strengthen the transit potential of the signatory states, the Economy Ministry announced on Thursday.
About two million tonnes of oil and other oil products of Kazakh origin will pass through Georgia’s oil terminal in the coastal town of Batumi in 2022-23, Guram Guramishvili, the Deputy Economy Minister, announced on Thursday.
Revenues from transport services in Georgia will increase by about $150 million compared to 2021 and exceed $960 million in the ongoing year, Georgian-based non-governmental organisation Society and Banks revealed on Monday.
Kazakhstan plans to transport two to three million tonnes of oil through the Georgian corridor in 2022, with further increase in the figure planned for the upcoming years, the Economy Ministry announced on Tuesday.
The Georgian maritime sector is showcased at Posidonia 2022, one of the world’s leading shipping exhibitions hosted at the Athens Metropolitan Expo in Greece, the Georgian Ministry of Economy announced on Tuesday.
Introduction of a Port Community System in Georgian ports will improve the management and automation of their facilities and logistics processes, facilitate inter-agency coordination, and significantly reduce administrative requirements and bureaucracy, a feasibility study conducted by an Estonian-German-Georgian consortium has said.
Georgia’s Black Sea city of Batumi on Saturday marked International Seaferer’s Day with a ceremony handing out prizes to sailing captains and students of Batumi State Maritime Academy.
A new multifunctional sports complex will begin operating at full capacity in Georgia’s Black Sea city of Poti starting July 29, Poti City Hall announced on Thursday.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Thursday said Georgia’s location placed “high importance” on the country in its role as an alternative trade route for transportation of goods from Asia to Europe in the wake of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said he would discuss his country’s progress on its European Union integration path and prospects for further sectoral and economic cooperation with the EU at the bloc’s Eastern Partnership meeting in Brussels.
The cooperation between the Georgian Government and APM Terminals, a port terminal operator company, was discussed on Thursday in a meeting between Prime Minister Irakli Garibashsvili and Keith Svendsen, the Chief Executive Officer of the company.