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through the Danube and Western borders. The export shipment’s structure will be the same next year," he said. According to Vaskov, the operation of the corridor and the Danube ports will accelerate GDP growth. “The functioning of the Ukrainian maritime corridor in 2024 will add at least 8% to Ukraine's GDP growth rate. If we have 5% growth in the budget, then on the condition that the maritime corridor and the Danube will both operate, there will be 13% growth.” At the same time, the deputy minister noted that Ukraine is interested in expanding its shipping channels by restoring those in the Mykolaiv region. However, decisions regarding this will be made depending on the security situation.
Ukraine launches a Ship Insurance Fund. The $50M fund, created on November 14 together with the British government and a pool of insurance companies, may become operational as early as this week, said Minister of Economy Yuliya Svyridenko. Within the program's framework, vessels with all commercial cargo bound to and from Ukrainian ports will be insured. Ukraine has already provided almost half of the fund’s total, ₴800 million ($22M), to the Export Credit Agency. Thus, Ukrainian state banks will be able to provide letters of credit to shipowners, which will be a guarantee of coverage against possible damage. British insurers are ready to provide the remaining $30M in the event of an emergency. Ukraine also plans to expand the fund. It will provide general insurance - all goods stored in Ukraine, transported by sea and land. Since the start of the temporary sea corridor in August, 115 ships have left Ukrainian ports, and 148 have entered.
Ukraine starts grain insurance program following attack on foreign cargo ship. Ukraine launched an insurance program with broker Marsh McLennan and Lloyd’s of London to cover grain vessels leaving from Ukraine's deep-sea ports, days after a Russian missile struck a foreign cargo ship, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 14.
The UK will help Ukraine make insurance for ships in the Black Sea more affordable. Ukraine and the UK have agreed on a special mechanism for the insurance of military risks during exports through the Black Sea corridor, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said. As he clarified, the new mechanism will provide a discount on the cost of insurance for exporters of all products from Ukraine. This new initiative will include cooperation between the Export Credit Agency, Ukrgasbank, Ukreximbank, and a pool of 14 British insurers (including Marsh McLennan and Lloyd's of London). The government has allocated funds that will be used as a guarantee to cover losses in the event of an attack. Cooperation will be implemented through the launch of the Unity Facility mechanism. The total amount of coverage under this program is $50M. The mechanism will reduce the cost of grain insurance by 2.5 percentage points, bringing agricultural producers an additional ₴4B. According to Shmyhal, Ukraine is also negotiating on the launch of military risk insurance projects with MIGA and EBRD.
Some 100 ships have already passed along the Black Sea Humanitarian Corridor, delivering 3.7mn tonnes of food and goods around the world, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on November 13.
This year, Ukrainian seaports have increased cargo handling. The Administration of Sea Ports reported that port operators processed 46.2 million tons of cargo in 10 months. This is 13.2% (5.4 million tons) more than in the same period of 2022. Transshipment of export goods increased to 41.7 million
97 UKRAINE Country Report December 2023 www.intellinews.com