Container cargo at BMF Port Burgas has grown 20%, chief executive Boris Balev said. He called claims that merchant ships are refusing to call at Bulgarian ports to load grain for export unfounded.

So far there is no sign that any ship linked to the company's terminals has cancelled a visit. Requests to handle cargo come directly from shippers or from their authorised representatives.

Cargo volumes have been solid over the past three months and the port is working normally, even though the situation in the Black Sea is unusual and changing fast, Balev said. He said the rise shows that port operations are efficient, that partners trust the port and that it is competitive. Bulgarian and international shippers keep showing strong interest in it.

On 20 October we reported that prime minister Rumen Radev said in Tvarditsa that ships heading for the ports of Varna and Burgas have not stopped coming. Figures from the transport ministry show 30 more ships have passed through the two ports than a year earlier.

BMF Port Burgas is the largest private port operator in Bulgaria. Besides traditional cargo, the company is developing new lines of business and works as a logistics hub for battery systems that store energy.