Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States and several other NATO members stepped up their presence in the Black Sea. Due to disagreements among NATO’s Black Sea members there has been no agreed Black Sea strategy by the Alliance. The ability to move warships from the Caspian region, which includes Central Asia, to the Black Sea (and vice-versa) allows Russia to project power in an important area of the world while giving Russian policymakers flexibility and options when a crisis arises in the region.įor its part, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has tried to do more in the Black Sea to deter Russian aggression in recent years but with mixed success. Russia has been using the Volga–Don Canal more often to move warships between the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov. This is because one of the two canals connecting the Caspian Sea to the outside world is the Volga–Don Canal, which links the Caspian Sea with the Sea of Azov. The importance that Russia places on its Eurasian identity can also help explain, at least in part, its determination to occupy Crimea, dominate the Black Sea, and fully control the Sea of Azov. This important point is often overlooked. The control of the Black Sea also means total control over the Sea of Azov (a small body of water surrounded by Russia and Ukraine connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait). The Black Sea, and specifically Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea, serves as a springboard to project military power in places like Georgia, Ukraine and even as far away as Syria. Today, every 15 minutes an oil tanker makes the same trip carrying Russian or Kazakh oil (the latter, of course, transits through Russia so Moscow receives transit fees). For example, on the eve of World War I, 50 percent of all Russian exports, and 90 percent of its agriculture exports, passed through the Bosphorus out of the Black Sea. The region contains oil and gas resources, key energy pipelines, shipping lanes, and fiber-optic cables.įor Russia, the Black Sea is of particular importance for economic and geostrategic reasons. Throughout history, Russia’s Black Sea ports, as the country’s only warm water ports, have always served its economic interests. Russia and Ukraine account for 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of world maize (corn) exports, and 80% of world sunflower oil exports.The Black Sea sits at an important economic and civilizational crossroads on the Eurasian landmass. wheat futures rose to the highest level in nearly a decade as the conflict threatened to disrupt the flow of supplies from the region while European wheat futures climbed to a record peak. The Azov Sea ports export wheat, barley and corn to Mediterranean importers including Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon and Turkey.Īnother European trader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such countries would have to seek alternative supplies if the ships were unable to depart in the near future. Mariupol, reported to be under attack from Russian forces, one of the biggest Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea, mainly handles relatively small ships of between 3,000 to 10,000 tonnes deadweight. The Azov Sea's ports are shallower and have less capacity. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, mainly ships its grain from ports in the Black Sea. Competitor Archer-Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) said its Ukraine facilities, including an Odessa export terminal, were not operating. Global agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd (BG.N) said Thursday it had shuttered company offices in Ukraine and operations in its Black Sea grains port in Nikolaev, Ukraine, had been suspended. Shipping group Maersk said on Thursday it had halted all port calls in Ukraine until the end of February and has shut its main office in Odessa on the Black Sea coast because of the conflict.

Black sea port map