Ripples from Black Sea shipping crisis hitting regional supply chains

Odessa Port and Industry. © Yevhenii Volchenkov Dreamstime.com.

Increasingly complex supply chains have been made more complex by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, which disrupted the country’s logistics industry and caused a ripple effect throughout regional container markets.

Ukrainian Black Sea and Azov Sea ports shut down shortly after the invasion, and Russian naval forces blocked Ukrainian facilities, threatening to attack any merchant (and non-merchant) vessels attempting to approach the terminals.

At least 16 merchant ships have been fired on since the beginning of the war, with two seafarers ...