DP World has sold its 51% stake in the container terminal at the Port of Pivdennyi to TIS Group, which has thus fully regained control over the asset, as well as the related tugboat business P&O Maritime Ukraine. DP World itself confirmed that the transaction was closed after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals and that the sale is in line with the company’s regional and global strategy. At the same time, DP World emphasized that it does not rule out further business opportunities in Ukraine.
In effect, this marks the end of a five-year partnership between Ukraine’s TIS and Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, which entered the capital of the TIS container terminal in Pivdennyi in June 2020 by acquiring a controlling 51% stake. At the time, the deal was regarded as one of the largest foreign direct investments in Ukraine’s transport and logistics infrastructure, and its execution was advised by SD Capital.
The official value of the transaction was not disclosed; however, Forbes, citing estimates from several analysts and industry experts, assessed the possible value of the controlling stake at $84–105 million.
DP World’s original rationale for entering the project was not limited to a financial investment, but also involved integrating the Ukrainian asset into the company’s global network. In 2020, DP World explicitly stated that it viewed the terminal in Pivdennyi as an “attractive market” and planned to strengthen its development through its own expertise, global network of ports, economic zones, warehouses, and inland solutions. The company also pointed to the potential for creating a “unique Black Sea product” for customers by linking Pivdennyi with its terminals in Constanta and Yarimca via the Unifeeder network.
Even at the announcement stage, Ukraine positioned DP World’s entry as a strategic signal to investors. UkraineInvest noted that the partnership was expected to give the TIS container terminal access to new container lines, additional services, new cargo segments, IT solutions, and DP World’s global expertise. It was also emphasized that the terminal in Pivdennyi is the longest and deepest container berth in Ukraine and is designed to accommodate large-tonnage vessels.
The asset itself remains one of the most valuable infrastructure hubs in Ukraine’s maritime sector. According to TIS, the container terminal in Pivdennyi has a designed capacity of 8 million tonnes or 400,000 TEU per year, a berth length of 600 metres, and a depth of 15 metres, making it the deepest and one of the most technologically advanced container terminals in the country. In 2021, Maersk consolidated all of its vessel calls to Ukraine at this very terminal, underscoring its role as a key container hub on the Black Sea.
Importantly, the current transaction covers not only the container terminal, but also the related maritime services business. The history of cooperation between TIS and the DP World group began even earlier — in 2018, when DP World subsidiary P&O Maritime, through its own subsidiary, acquired a 51% stake in LBS Group, which owned the Ukrainian tug operator LB Shipping LLC. In DP World’s reporting, this transaction was recorded as an acquisition for $20.258 million. The P&O Maritime Ukraine business was subsequently built on the basis of this asset.
P&O Maritime Ukraine later expanded its presence not only in Pivdennyi, but also in other ports. According to industry sources, by 2020 its tugboats were already operating in Pivdennyi, Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Mykolaiv, while the company served more than 20 terminals in Ukraine’s seaports. This means that TIS is regaining not merely a container asset, but also a full-fledged maritime services link that is critically important for operational flexibility amid wartime risks and the reshaped logistics of the Black Sea.
For TIS itself, the consolidation makes both strategic and operational sense. The group is Ukraine’s largest private port operator, operates in the waters of Pivdennyi, and has its own railway infrastructure with more than 80 km of track and a locomotive depot. Before the full-scale invasion, TIS handled more than 30 million tonnes of cargo annually, accounting for around 20% of the total cargo turnover of Ukraine’s seaports. Against this backdrop, the return of full control over the container and tugboat segments strengthens the group’s decision-making autonomy and allows it to adapt more quickly to the new geography of cargo flows.
In a broader context, the transaction appears mixed for the investment market. On the one hand, it represents the exit of one of the world’s largest port and logistics operators from a specific Ukrainian asset. On the other hand, it has not been accompanied by public statements about a final exit from Ukraine as an investment destination: DP World explicitly stated that it would continue to consider new business opportunities in Ukraine. For the market, this is more of a signal of a revised presence format than of a complete loss of interest in Ukrainian logistics.
Deep-water port-rail logistics hub, 100 ha near the Port of Pivdennyi
A unique and strategic 100-hectare land plot portfolio is being offered for sale in immediate proximity to the TIS port cluster, the Port of Pivdennyi, and the Odesa Port Plant, for the development of stevedoring and logistics capacity.
The Port of Pivdennyi remains critical to maritime logistics even during the war. In 2024, Pivdennyi handled 35.55 million tonnes, the largest cargo volume among Ukrainian ports. As of March 2026, Ukraine’s seaports had already transshipped more than 15 million tonnes of cargo since the beginning of the year. This means that the asset being consolidated by TIS is at the center of Ukraine’s restored export architecture.
Ukraine’s port and maritime infrastructure during the war: logistics transformation and investment opportunities
An analytical overview of Ukraine’s port and maritime infrastructure during the war: the state of ports in 2025–2026, risks, logistics transformation, and investment opportunities today and after the end of the war.
DP World itself remains one of the world’s largest operators in logistics, ports, and supply chain. The company reports more than 115,000 employees across 79 countries, while its revenue for 2024 reached a record $20 billion. By the end of 2024, DP World had exceeded 100 million TEU of container capacity across its global portfolio. Against this backdrop, the sale of the Ukrainian asset is hardly financially critical for the group, but it is indicative in terms of portfolio rebalancing amid global turbulence and wartime risks in the Black Sea.
