Black Sea Shipping Company

Soviet-times logo of the company.

Black Sea Shipping Company (Ukrainian: Чорноморське морське пароплавство) was a major shipping company of the former Soviet Union based in Odessa, Ukraine. During the Soviet rule, the company held the title of world's largest shipping company for at least several years and was instrumental in important foreign trade and international aid initiatives of the Soviet government.

In February 2009 it was recognized bankrupt by the Higher Commercial Court of Ukraine (previously by the Commercial Court of Odessa Oblast and the Odessa Appellate Commercial Court).^[1]

History

Funnels of the Black Sea Shipping Co. cargo ships during Soviet Union period were the same as the funnel of cargo ship "Pyetr Saveliev". Some vessels, mostly passenger ships, had the same red stripe and red emblem on the white color funnels.

The company was established on June 13, 1922 as Black Sea - Azov Sea Shipping by the Council of Labour and Defence as part of the People's Commissariat of Communication Routes and administrated by the Central Administration of State Merchant Fleet (Gostorgflot). The company however traces its history to May 16, 1833 when the Black Sea Society of Steamships (ROPiT) was established as means of permanent communications between Odessa and Istanbul, but the company disappeared after the Crimean War of the 1850s. The Black Sea - Azov Sea Shipping company splits into Black Sea Shipping Company, Azov Sea Shipping Company and Georgian Shipping Company after the World War II. Another split took place in 1964 when a new company, Novorossiysk Shipping Company, was created from the tanker division of the Black Sea Shipping Company. In 1990 Black Sea Shipping was the biggest one in Europe among other shipping companies and the second in whole world. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the company was passed from the Ministry of Sea Fleet of the USSR as a state company of Ukraine and later registered with the Fund of State Property of Ukraine.

On August 13, 1993 President Leonid Kravchuk issued the Decree #303,^[2] creating the state conglomeration "Blasko" based on "Black Sea Shipping Company". The Decree was canceled in January 1995.

Speaking in 2013, Leonid Kravchuk accepted his blame for decisions leading to ruining of the "Black Sea Shipping Company".^[3]

Vessels fleet

Black Sea Shipping company was the biggest company in the world in 1980-es years as per quantity of sea-going vessels. The company had more than 250 sea-going ship during the best times.

Ports and harbours of operation

During the Soviet Union period and after the creation of the Novorossiysk Sea Shipping Company all of the large ports on the present Ukrainian territory except Sevastopol, Asov Sea ports, Kerch port and Danube river ports were owned by the Black Sea Shipping Company. After the collapse of the Soviet Union these ports separated from the shipping company.

Ports of Black Sea Shipping Co. during Soviet Union period (first version is Russian language version):

• Constellation of the Blackerranean (by analogy with the word Mediterranean):
  • Odessa (Odesa - Ukrainian language version)
  • Illichivsk (Illychivsk - Ukrainian language version)
  • Yuzhny (Yuzhne - Ukrainian language version)
• River ports:
  • Nikolayev (Mykolaiv - Ukrainian language version)
  • Kherson
  • Belgorod-Dnestrovsky
• Crimea ports
  • Yalta
  • Alushta
  • Feodosiya

Before the creation of the Novorossiysk Sea Shipping Company the Black Sea Shipping Company also included all ports of Novorossiysk Sea Shipping Company on the east coast of the Black Sea:

• Novorossiysk
• Tuapse

The main port was Odessa during all times. And most of tonnage of cargо passed via Constellation of the Blackerranean - Odessa, Illichivsl, Yuzhny ports.

Sevastopol - was not Black Sea Shipping Co. port. It was naval port of Soviet Union in Black Sea.

See also

• Russian Steam Navigation and Trading Company, company-predecessor in 1856-1918
• SS Admiral Nakhimov
• Leninsky Komsomol class of cargo ships
• SS Metallurg Anosov
• FC Chornomorets Odesa

References

External links

• Ships of Ukraine website
• Lartsev, V. ChMP - Part 3. Requiem for the Black Sea squadron. (ЧМП - частина третя. Реквієм за Чорноморською ескадрою). Ukrayinska Pravda. 2013-01-25