At Mariupol port, shipping volumes fell last year to 5.3 million tons, or 10% below 2017 levels.

At Mariupol port, shipping volumes fell last year to 5.3 million tons, or 10% below 2017 levels. With the 2014 loss of most production from the Donbas, this 22-berth port operated last year at 28% of capacity. A second blow came in spring 2018 with Russia’s opening of the Kerch Strait Bridge. Built with a 35-meter high central arch — half the height of the Suez Canal Bridge — the bridge is too low for 30% of the cargo ships that historically served Mariupol.