Polish maritime terminals becoming new window to world for Ukrainian exporters

Author: Łukasz Kuś

2022/05/04 at 4:11 PM

The blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea due to the Russian invasion has very serious consequences for the economy of Ukraine and the logistics industry in Central and Eastern Europe. Launching alternative ways to export and import is currently the biggest challenge for Ukrainian enterprises. Poland, due to its location and infrastructure, can play a key role in overcoming this crisis.

Prior to the invasion of Russia, Ukrainian ports exported grain, iron ore and steel products. One of the elements of the Russian aggression is to prevent the shipment of these goods and ultimately cause an economic collapse in Ukraine. Ukrainian enterprises are looking for alternative routes to sustain foreign trade and, therefore, they establish cooperation with logistics companies, terminal operators and ports in neighbouring countries. Poland can play an important role in ensuring the continuity of logistic chains for the Ukrainian economy.

“Polish ports are becoming a window to the world for Ukraine, both for the export of containerised general cargo, steel products, broadly understood industry and food products, including cereals, which is a big logistic challenge, especially when it comes to the shipment of mass products and the preparation of railways, taking into account the break of gauges and the use of road transport,” comments Marek Tarczyński, president of Terramar and chairman of the board of the Polish Chamber of Forwarding and Logistics (PISiL).

Business cooperation

Polish logistics operators are present in the Ukrainian logistics market. The commencement of direct calls of ocean-going vessels to the DCT Gdańsk terminal was a great impulse for the development of business cooperation between the two countries. Transport with the use of transhipment in the Polish port turned out to be a very good solution for servicing Ukraine’s foreign trade, especially in its western regions. The business contacts and logistics services built in such a way are now helping to rebuild logistics chains for the Ukrainian economy.

“After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year, almost all cargo handling orders were cancelled by our Ukrainian partners in the initial period. It was an emergency. After a while, the Ukrainian customers, however, resumed their normal work and the orders came back. There are also new Ukrainian companies that want to transport cargo both in export and import using the Polish seaports and airports, as well as rail and road connections. Our warehouses, where we carry out reloading and other warehouse operations, are also important to them. Today we receive many new inquiries and, of course, we carry out current orders for transport and customs and warehouse services on an ongoing basis. We also participate in the logistics service of humanitarian aid for Ukraine. We transport not only gifts for the civilian population but also carry out military cargo orders, i.e. handling military cargo, and dual-use. We have the appropriate international certificates and permits issued by the Polish authorities for this,” says Tomasz Langowski, vice president of Langowski Logistics.

The possibility of using Polish seaports, airports and intermodal terminals to handle the export of Ukrainian products will be one of the issues to be discussed during the ‘Poland-Ukraine Business Meeting’, which will take place on 26-27 May in Gdańsk.