The Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, located in the town of Horishni Plavni, will suspend operations for 10-20 days due to a grave financial situation and a naval blockade. This was announced by a company representative at a meeting of the temporary parliamentary investigative commission investigating possible violations of defense legislation, anti-corruption legislation, and human rights and freedoms during martial law, as reported by commission head Oleksiy Goncharenko on his Telegram channel.
According to the company representative, the plant was out of operation for 67 days during the winter. The situation is currently further complicated by the blockade of Ukrainian ports.
“We planned to load four vessels in July, but three of them are currently blocked in ports because our customers have refused these shipments, making it impossible to ship them to end customers. One of the vessels was hit by a drone, killing a foreign crewmember. The fate of this vessel, which was carrying products from our mining and processing plant, is currently unknown,” said a representative of the plant, which primarily exported.
He also reported that the damaged vessel might be drifting in the Black Sea off the coast of Odesa, heading toward Crimea. There is no contact with the vessel, as its geolocation equipment is likely damaged. A tugboat is currently being sought to tow it to shore.
The representative added that each cargo from one vessel is worth $5-6 million, meaning the four vessels were carrying products worth approximately $20-24 million.
A grave situation has also developed at the neighboring Yeristovsky Mining and Processing Plant in the same Gorishni Plavni area. During the first half of the year, about 600 people left the company. (URP)