State-owned enterprise Mariupol maritime Merchandise port (Donetsk region) handled 5.882 million tonnes of cargo in 2017, which is 15.5% less than in 2016.

The enterprise's press service reported that over the period the port saw over UAH 186 million in net profit.

"Among the difficulties that the port had to cope with in 2017 was the low volume of cargo traffic, the inability to attract new customers due to the insufficient capacity of the Kamysh-Zoria-Volnovaha railway section, the temporary reorientation of cargo owners to the southern ports of Ukraine due to periods the ceasefire through the Kerch-Yenikale canal in August and September, the loss of 30% of the traditional fleet due to the restriction of the overboard dimensions of ships (up to 33 meters) that can pass under the Kerch Bridge, and problems with maintenance of passport depth of the approach channel," the port said in a statement.

As in previous years, the main partners of the Mariupol port were the Mariupol steel works. In 2017, 4.291 million tonnes of metal products were handled, and raw materials: 843,300 tonnes of coal and 19,300 tonnes of ore.

Turnover of food cargo remained at the level of 2016: 412,200 tonnes of grain and 73,600 tonnes of sunflower oil.

The most successful month for cargo handling was May (764,000 tonnes) and October (720,000 tonnes).

The port paid UAH 466.3 million of taxes and duties to the national budget and targeted funds, including UAH 286.6 million to the national budget and UAH 84.7 million to the local budget.

Mariupol seaport is one of the largest ports of Ukraine. Its capacity allows handling more than 17 million tonnes of cargo per year. The port is open all year round for ships with a length of up to 240 meters and a draft of up to 8 meters. Its territory is 73.2 hectares, the length of the berthing line is 4.2 km.