# Volatile Freight Rates in Maritime Container Industry in Times of Crises
### Overview of the Literature on the Maritime Container Market during the Russian Invasion  
This section presents the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the context of the Black Sea ports in the first half of 2022. The conflict in Europe has caused an increase in oil prices, and the imposed sanctions have changed the port handling of selected ships or cargo in selected ports.  
Navigating the Black Sea during the invasion represents a great challenge [3]. One should not ignore the fact that the maritime industry in Ukraine has been under immense pressure ever since 2014, i.e., since Russia appropriated Crimea [35]. The pressure peaked in 2022, more precisely on 24 February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine [36]. The navigation around Crimea has been difficult for years due to Russian efforts to disrupt access to this area [37]. Goods flow at sea has been almost disabled because the navigation through the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov has been blocked and many Ukrainian ports are under Russian command [35]. Before the invasion of Ukraine started, the strategies for returning under Ukrainian influence on the area of the Black Sea had been as follows [36]:  
1. Recognize the rights belonging to Ukraine in its territorial waters, i.e., the zone within 12 nautical miles off the Russian coast.
2. Establish the balance of forces in coastal waters closer to the Ukrainian coast, which Ukraine can legally claim regardless of the status of Crimea.  
3. Strive to maintain strong presence in those waters claimed by Russia after the Crimea annexation.  
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has rapidly caused disruptions in the entire global transport due to delivery delays in some parts of the supply chain, port congestions and problems with the work force. Because of the invasion, the maritime market has been affected by problems, such as loss of work force and vessels in the Black Sea area, disruptions in trading with Russia due to the sanctions most world countries imposed on Russia and the volatile fuel prices. The biggest problem is the workforce, since Russian workers make up 10% of the global maritime workforce and the share of Ukrainian workers is 4% [3]. Furthermore, there is a problem with the rest of the workforce on the maritime market, since at some parts, the possibility to access or disembark ships has been limited, and numerous flights have been cancelled, obstructing the movement of the people working on ships and for shipping companies [38]. Many shipping companies whose vessels have navigated these waters, with the aim of preserving stable relations with the clients, have, as the Ukrainian ports were closing, implemented the following steps [39]:  
1. Changed the course (the destination port) with no port charges or with minimum costs of relocation;
2. Completely erased the charges for cancelling the reservations in Ukrainian ports;
3. Defined special conditions for demurrage fees and storing the unloaded containers in alternative ports;
4. Special conditions for storing the unloaded containers.  
This invasion has put challenges in front of the insurance industry, too. There is a rising number of claims based on the policies that contain the war clause. Moreover, the insurance companies need to deal with the claims for the blocked shipments in the Ukrainian waters [3]. It is highly unlikely that the situation will improve soon and the fear of floating mines further postpones the beginning of navigation even in those areas that are declared relatively safe [34]. Because they fear for their employees' safety and because the insurance fees for sending ships to Ukraine or Russia have skyrocketed, the shippers are choosing to avoid these territories even if their safety is guaranteed [38].