OREANDA-NEWS. June 15, 2010. As previously threatened, Russia's National Container Company (NCC) has lodged a formal protest with the European Court of Human Rights over its eviction from Illichivsk's container terminal. NCC continues to maintain that Ukrainian subsidiary Uktranscontainer (UTC) performed well contractually and operationally, giving state-run Sea Commercial Port of Illichivsk (SCPI) no right to prematurely terminate its stevedoring contract in 2008.

In 2005 UTC became an investor according to the terms of a Joint Operation Agreement signed with SCPI that remained valid up to 2035. NCC claims that by the end of 2007, it had already invested USD 61 million in new container handling equipment which, to make matters worse, is now being used by SCPI for its own operations instead of being put into secure storage pending an end to its dispute with UTC.

As reported previously, in an unusually forthright statement made in the middle of 2008, NCC's president, Alyona Ashurkova, complained: 'NCC's transparent business practice seems to have no room in a port built on grey business operations and smuggling.

'We see no ground for the port's destructive actions other than stealing Government money and filling their own pockets. Integrity, transparency and the interests of the State of Ukraine are notions alien to [its top management]'.

Suspicions of smuggling have never been far away from Illichivsk because of its nearby massive wholesale trading market, perhaps fuelled by its neighbouring port of Odessa.

Although container traffic to/from Ukraine's ports fell last year, there has since been a significant turnaround, with Illichivsk's throughput increasing by 24.8% in Q1 10, compared to the same period last year, up to 66,793TEU, and Odessa's increasing by 28.9%, up to 70,527TEU.

Further up the Black Sea coast, NCC's Nutep container terminal in Novorossiysk increased its throughput by an even more impressive 52.6%, up to 40,222TEU, largely contributing to the Russian port's total increase of 26.1%, up to 105,172TEU. NCC's First Container Terminal also contributed to St Petersburg's total increase of 42.2%, up to 393,172TEU via 29% growth, up to 255,903TEU.As previously threatened, Russia's National Container Company (NCC) has lodged a formal protest with the European Court of Human Rights over its eviction from Illichivsk's container terminal. NCC continues to maintain that Ukrainian subsidiary Uktranscontainer (UTC) performed well contractually and operationally, giving state-run Sea Commercial Port of Illichivsk (SCPI) no right to prematurely terminate its stevedoring contract in 2008.

In 2005 UTC became an investor according to the terms of a Joint Operation Agreement signed with SCPI that remained valid up to 2035. NCC claims that by the end of 2007, it had already invested USD61 million in new container handling equipment which, to make matters worse, is now being used by SCPI for its own operations instead of being put into secure storage pending an end to its dispute with UTC.

As reported previously, in an unusually forthright statement made in the middle of 2008, NCC's president, Alyona Ashurkova, complained: 'NCC's transparent business practice seems to have no room in a port built on grey business operations and smuggling.

'We see no ground for the port's destructive actions other than stealing Government money and filling their own pockets. Integrity, transparency and the interests of the State of Ukraine are notions alien to [its top management]'.

Suspicions of smuggling have never been far away from Illichivsk because of its nearby massive wholesale trading market, perhaps fuelled by its neighbouring port of Odessa.
Although container traffic to/from Ukraine's ports fell last year, there has since been a significant turnaround, with Illichivsk's throughput increasing by 24.8% in Q1 10, compared to the same period last year, up to 66,793TEU, and Odessa's increasing by 28.9%, up to 70,527TEU.

Further up the Black Sea coast, NCC's Nutep container terminal in Novorossiysk increased its throughput by an even more impressive 52.6%, up to 40,222TEU, largely contributing to the Russian port's total increase of 26.1%, up to 105,172TEU. NCC's First Container Terminal also contributed to St Petersburg's total increase of 42.2%, up to 393,172TEU via 29% growth, up to 255,903TEU.