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Commercial vessel traffic at Ukraine's Black Sea ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny has stopped after a recent increase in Russian attacks on port infrastructure and commercial shipping, Ukrainian officials said.
Shipowners have temporarily stopped sending vessels to Ukraine's Black Sea ports to load agricultural products following the strikes, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi said.
Vysotskyi said the suspension was a decision made by shipowners and that the Ukrainian government had not imposed restrictions on vessel traffic.
"As of today, the entry of ships has been suspended. This is a decision taken by the shipowners," Vysotskyi said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
He added that Ukraine had not introduced any state restrictions.
According to MarineTraffic vessel tracking data, there were no commercial vessels at Ukraine's three main Black Sea ports as of July 23.
Danish shipping company Maersk also said it had temporarily suspended its connection service to Ukraine via Chornomorsk because of current conditions.
The company said import cargo planned to be unloaded in Chornomorsk would be redirected to Romania's Port of Constanta.
Existing export bookings can be canceled free of charge or the loading port can be changed to Constanta, Maersk said.
Russia's Defense Ministry said the latest attacks on Odesa and Chornomorsk targeted port infrastructure, warehouses and vessels that it claimed were being used to transport military equipment and fuel to the Ukrainian army.
Ukraine says the attacks target commercial maritime transport and agricultural exports, while Russia says it is striking facilities used for military purposes.
The ports of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny are among Ukraine's main export hubs for delivering agricultural products, especially grain, to global markets.
Ukraine has also recently increased attacks on vessels and port infrastructure that it says are used in Russia's logistics activities in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The disruption follows intensified Russian strikes on Ukrainian ports and merchant vessels in recent weeks.
A missile strike on a corn-carrying vessel near Odesa on July 19 killed 10 people, including nine crew members from India and Syria and a Ukrainian maritime pilot.
Traders and analysts also estimate that Russian missile and drone attacks have reduced Ukraine's grain export capacity through Black Sea ports by about one-third.
Ukraine has relied heavily on its Black Sea shipping corridor for grain exports since 2023, after Russia withdrew from an agreement that had facilitated the safe passage of agricultural shipments following Moscow's full-scale invasion in 2022.
Vysotskyi said Ukraine has sufficient storage capacity and alternative routes developed after the start of the war, including exports through Danube ports and more than a dozen dry ports connected by rail.
He said those routes are currently underused.
Vysotskyi noted that Ukraine had previously managed to export as much as 3.5 million metric tons of agricultural products per month through alternative channels when its deepwater ports were blocked.
However, low water levels on the Danube caused by drought in Europe could complicate the use of that route until later in the fall.
The minister said a disruption lasting a day, a week or even a month would not significantly affect Ukraine's overall annual agricultural export volumes.
But he warned that a suspension lasting several months could have an impact.
He also urged farmers not to rush into sales amid concerns that the situation could fuel market speculation and price volatility.
Ukraine's acting foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said at least three civilian cargo vessels had been attacked by Russia in recent days and that no ships passed through Ukraine's Black Sea maritime corridor Wednesday.
Sybiha said Ukraine had requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council for Monday over the disruption.
Russia says its attacks target port infrastructure and vessels supporting the Ukrainian military.
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