The Russian occupiers plan to handle about 300,000 tons of cargo in the port of occupied Mariupol in 2024.
This was announced by the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot), Andrei Tarasenko, the CFTS portal reports.
According to him, preparations are currently underway at the Mariupol Commercial Seaport to expand the range of cargoes that the port handles, in particular, to mining and metal cargoes.
"At present, preparations are being made for the launch of four blast furnaces in the units. For this, it is necessary to ensure an uninterrupted supply of relevant components. This should include ore, coke, coal, etc. We are now preparing for this variety of cargo and clearing the sites, and then we will start," the Russian official said.
As reported earlier, the port of the temporarily occupied Mariupol handled 160,000 tons of cargo in the first half of 2024.
The port handled about 150,000 tons of cargo in 2023.