AD Ports Sees New Opportunities in Black Sea Market
Barely a month after DP World sold its stake in Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Pivdennyi, another UAE-based operator, AD Ports, has entered the region through an investment partnership in Romania.
AD Ports this week announced that it has signed an agreement with the National Company Maritime Ports Administration SA, the administrator of the Port of Constanta in Romania. The agreement effectively opens the door for AD Ports to pursue development opportunities in the Black Sea’s largest port.
The expansion into Romania aligns with other investments made by AD Ports across Central Asia and Pakistan. AD Ports is positioning itself to lead Eurasian logistics through the ongoing reactivation of the Middle Corridor, better known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). The historic Silk Road corridor connects China to Europe through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Last year, AD Ports launched the Gulf Link Logistics joint venture with KTZ Express, the freight unit of Kazakhstan Railways. Further, the operator partnered with SEMURG Invest LLP, to develop a grain terminal at Kazakhstan’s Kuryk Port on the Caspian Sea. In addition, AD Ports has also inaugurated an intermodal logistics hub in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Now with access to the Port of Constanta, AD Ports significantly raises its influence on the logistics networks along the Middle Corridor. Positioned at the mouth of the Danube-Black Sea Canal, Constanta provides a vital maritime link between the Black Sea shipping routes and inland waterways serving Eastern and Central Europe. Notably, the port handles significant volumes of agricultural products such as grains and cereals from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
As a fully integrated multimodal hub, connecting sea, rail, road and river networks, Constanta is the major trade gateway on the Black Sea. In 2025, the port handled 88 million tons of liquid, dry and general cargo, as well as approximately 1 million TEU of container traffic.
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AD Ports' close competitor DP World exited the region a month ago to enter the Russian market. The exit came after the Ukrainian port operator TIS Group acquired the 51% stake of DP World in the container terminal of the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi. At around the same period of exit last month, it was revealed that DP World would create a joint venture in logistics with Russia’s nuclear giant Rosatom. The deal was valued at around $200 million, with Rosatom holding 51% of the company and the other 49% going to DP World.
Rosatom’s contribution to the venture would be its 92.4% stake in the Russian shipping company FESCO, which it controls. DP World would provide cash based on the market valuation of FESCO. Rosatom said that the deal would help it access DP World’s global infrastructure. DP World on the other hand is expected to assist Russia find new cargo volumes, including new users for the Northern Sea Route (NSR).
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