Of the ports, Odesa Region’s Pivdenniy increased its lead as the nation’s busiest sea port, handling almost 40% of Ukraine’s seaborne trade during the first half of this year. Pivdenniy’s increased its cargo handing by one third yoy, to 31 million tons. Number two Mykolaiv fell 6% to 14.4 million tons. Falling slightly were Odesa – 12 million tons – and Chornomorsk – 11.9 million tons. The two Azov ports saw healthy growth. Mariupol was up 27%, to 3.2 million tons. Berdyansk was up 64%, to almost 1 million tons.