The 24-th of May 1794 Catherine II approved the plan and signed an order on building in Khadjibey "... the military harbour together with merchant berth ... "
Since then over 200 years have passed... On the spot of the old fortress Khadjibey, now one of the largest Black Sea ports is situated - Odessa Sea Port.
Convenient geographical situation on the historicaly founded merchant ways between East and West, closeness to Bosporus and Dardanelles, all - the - year - round navigation in the port - was always attracting attention of owners of goods in the world.
After crisis of 1993 - 1994 when the structure of the port was changed and joint activity companies were created instead of cargo handling terminals, the cargo handling capacity is continionsly increasing. Cargo handling technology is having been constantly perfectioned, the berths and equipment having been modernized, the spectrum of offered services having been enlarged.