Metinvest to ship 169,000 tons of iron ore by road from blocked ports

Metinvest-Shipping recently announced a tender for the trucking of 169,000 tons of iron ore from Ukraine’s seaports blocked by Russian troops to berths at the Izmail Sea Commercial Port, according to tender info on the company’s website.

Company plans to transport by trucks about 92,000 tons of iron ore from the berths Pivdennyi port, as well as about 77,000 tons from the TIS-Coal terminal.

The start of transportation is scheduled for June-July 2022 with the possibility of extending the deadline.

Awning dump trucks with the possibility of sealing and preventing unauthorized access to cargo are expected. Their carrying capacity should be 20-40 tons. Also, if possible, the carrier should install stationary truck scales on the load.

The tender was announced on May 30, 2022, and the deadline for applications was June 2 this year.

After Russia’s invasion of the territory of Ukraine, the domestic steel companies reduced export of production to a minimum because of blockade of seaports.

Ukraine’s Metinvest Group is looking for a new supply chain and the development of new products, as the county’s sea trade routes are blocked by the Russian army. Some attempts to build logistics through the ports of Baltic Sea and Romania have already been made.

In early May, it became known about the beginning of exports of iron ore via the Romanian port of Constanta. Cargo operator Comvex shipped about 35,000 tons of iron ore from Ukraine.

On May 26, the Polish seaport Swinoujscie also sent the first 30,000 tons of Ukrainian iron ore. More than 50,000 tons of ore from Ukraine were in the port’s warehouses still.