About the weak points of container shipping lines

The conference about the problems of work of container shipping lines, headed by the Deputy minister - the director of State Department of River and Marine Transport Vladimir Rabotnev, took place in Ministry of transport and communications of Ukraine. The representatives of MAERSK Ukraine, CMA CGM Shipping Agencies Ukraine, ZIM Integrated Shipping Ukraine Service, MSC Ukraine, «K» Layn Ukraine ltd», Black Sea Shipping Service (NYK Line), «Arkas-Ukraine ltd», Black Sea Link (ADMIRAL Container Lines Inc.), PIL Ukraine took part at the conference.

Work of container shipping lines in Ukrainian sea commercial ports and ways of problems' solution have been discussed during the meeting. Today the number of factors conditioned the reorientation of container flows to other terminals of Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and etc): high empty containers handling operations rates, cost of storage on territories of handling complexes and level of port dues. «Logistic of container transportations is one of priority directions of Ministry activity to 2009. Today we discuss this question attentively», - the director of Ukrmorrechflot Vladimir Rabotnev said during the conference.

On results of conference, department of sea and river transport decided to submit for consideration of Ministry of transport the question of granting of discounts on handling operations with empty containers, and recommend to the container terminals, Odessa and Ilichevsk port to bring tariffs down on store of empty containers.

It is also decided to initiate the revision of procedures of ecological and other types of control for container transportations to make them in correspondence to the generally accepted world standards.

Ministry of transport and communications of Ukraine