OREANDA-NEWS. July 28, 2009. In the first half of 2009, net profit of Ukraine’s commercial seaports increased almost 3-fold, year-on-year, to some UAH 1 bln with Yuzhny port (Odessa region) having the best financial result – its net profit increased 4 times to UAH 309 mln while the largest Ukrainian port – Odessa almost doubled its net profit to UAH 209.4 mln.

Heads of commercial seaports say that ports suffered less from the crisis as compared with other companies of the transport industry. Meanwhile, net profit increase was drive not by the throughput growth. On the contrary, average fall of cargo handling was about 20% in the first half of 2009. As Mikhail Chubai, deputy Minister of Transport and Communications of Ukraine, head of the State Administration of Marine and River Transport, said the ports gained mainly from the increase of port charges and tariffs for handling operations. In summer 2008, the Ministry increased cargo handling tariffs by 44% on the average and port charges for ship owners – by 58%. For example, lump-sum rate for grain transshipment increased from USD 3.1 to USD 4.5 per tonne.

Mikhail Shaposhnikov, head of the Department for Development and External Relations of Odessa Commercial Sea Port, also attributes the port’s profit growth to hryvna depreciation: tariffs were set up in dollars.