Extending a Helping Hand

In late August, the Port of South Louisiana agreed to a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with Ukraine Sea Ports Authority to work together once the post-conflict rebuild begins abroad.

The connection and the kinship — as unlikely as it first appears — is born from the commonalities these two countries and regions share despite being a half-world apart.

Like the United States, Ukraine stands as one of the top grain-producing nations on the planet — 10 percent of the world wheat market, 15 percent of the world corn and maize market, 13 percent of the world barley market, according to statistic provided by the European Commission.

And just like the majority of American grain gets exported through the Port of South Louisiana, a large portion of grain from Ukraine passes through the Port of Odesa along the Black Sea basin.

In response to disruptive flooding at the Port of Odesa caused by Russian attacks on the nearby Kakhovka Dam, the Port of South Louisiana agreed to and signed a non-binding ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with Ukraine General Consul representing the Ukraine Sea Ports Authority, setting forth a cooperative alliance aimed at the reconstruction of port infrastructure and operations once the Russian conflict subsides. Since the August 29th signing, the Port remains committed to this agreement as the technical details of what this arrangement might specifically entail continue to evolve.

“As two of the world’s leading grain exporters, the farmers and workers of the United States and Ukraine are tough and take pride in their role feeding the world,” Port of South Louisiana CEO Paul Matthews said shortly after shaking hands on site with Ukraine General Consul Vitalii Tarasiuk. “This agreement solidifies the Port of South Louisiana’s support for the Ukrainian people in defense of their freedom and creates an alliance with our Ukrainian port partners that focuses on our shared mission of serving global customers and creating economic prosperity for our communities.”

The Russian conflict has severely hindered Ukraine’s normal capacity to produce crops and ship product to the rest of the planet, leaving a gap in the global food supply that other grain-growing countries have had to temporarily filled. According to a February 2023 report published by agricultural experts at the University of Illinois, Ukraine’s annual grain export numbers have been 20 percent short of projections since the fighting began in early 2022.

“Since Ukraine is such a massive grain-producing and grain-exporting country and since 60 percent of this nation’s grain is exported out of the Port of South Louisiana – we have that common connection,” Port Director of Communications Micah Cormier said. “Obviously, we understood that the world would be looking to the Port of South Louisiana to fill the grain export gap caused by the conflict in Ukraine. The eyes of the world looked to us to get more and more grain out.”

“But when the conflict ends, and Ukraine begins to rebuild, the focus will shift on returning Ukraine to its previous status as a grain exporter to aid the global food supply,” Cormier continued, “so this agreement to work together and share best practices will be beneficial on a various levels for various reasons.”

Most recently, the Ukrainian Port system has had to deal with the aftermath of a man-made disaster – the submersion of the Kakhovka Dam by Russian occupiers on June 6, 2023 and the subsequent destructive flooding caused by the breach.

Built in 1956 along the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine, the Kakhovka Dam was strategically constructed to power the nearby hydroelectric plant, provide irrigation to farmers, and aided multi-directional travel on the water – an imperative structure vital to several industries and the country’s quality of life, in general.

On the first day of the Russian conflict, invaders — knowing the importance of the power plant — infiltrated the facility by force. As the battle raged on in the summer months of 2022, maritime commerce near the dam grinded to a near-halt, although (reportedly) the structural integrity of the dam remained stable despite artillery attacks.

Months later, following media rumors of suspected Russian foul play, an explosion at the site eliminated the intermodal capacity of the facility, destroying rail and road route atop the dam. But the dam itself held strong. Within days, Russian officials opened reservoir gates to keep Ukrainian forces from crossing the river and seizing back control of the dam and power plant. The ruthless military move carried dire consequences for the Ukrainian people as levels in the reservoir dipped to dangerously low levels that affected irrigation and drinking water.

By the next spring, the dam was ill-equipped to handle the seasonal increase in river flow as water crested and spilled over the top of the structure, flooding nearby, lower-lying areas. Finally, in June, the dam was completely compromised when an internal explosion destroyed the central section and caused massive, destructive flooding. According to the United Nations, the dam disaster endangered the lives of thousands and ultimately killed 50 Ukrainians. Technically, the  cause of the explosion remains unsolved, as Russian leaders have repeatedly denied claims of sabotage.

Experts estimate it will take five years to repair the dam.

Understandably, the flooding of key waterways coupled with the threat of military force has massively impacted Ukraine’s maritime commerce industry as shippers and government officials have had to find creative, costly, hard-to-detect ways to transport grain to safe harbors.

While nothing compares to the horrors of war, maritime shipping leaders throughout the Gulf South have also had to deal with flooding and destruction disturbing their business and creating unforeseen challenges for decades.

The back-to-back storms of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005 severely hampered maritime commerce along the entire Louisiana shoreline for months as the lost economic impact ranged in the billions. And, more recently, Category 4 Hurricane Ida in 2021 ripped through the Port District with destructive 150-mph winds and torrential rain. Then-PLSA Executive Director Paul Aucoin told several media outlets that Ida damaged every building along the Port’s 54-mile stretch of Mississippi River, displaced barges on both banks, damaged sections of docks that made it unsafe to receive vessels, and knocked out power necessarily to run and operate the machinery needed to sort and export harvest season food supplies.

Beyond agriculture, Ida temporarily halted operations in the various energy and production sectors headquartered at the Port.

“Our Port’s infrastructure and pretty much all infrastructure in south Louisiana undergoes extreme stress and requires tremendous resiliency when faced with flooding, high winds and conditions associated with hurricanes and tropical storms,” Cormier said. “So, because of that, we’ve dealt with rebuilding, we’ve dealt with how to be partially operational even when certain aspects aren’t fully functional.”

“For us, the protection of ports is not only a national security issue but also is vital in global trade, so I think through this agreement we’ll be able to take some ‘best practices’ from the Ukraine Sea Ports Authority’s reconstruction efforts and possibly apply them to the next time any kind of issue comes our way. It’s a shared interest and shared benefit for both our countries and both our region – to find ways to feed the world.”