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KIEV, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has launched a major reform on maritime industry, which is aimed at rooting out the endemic corruption in the sector, the Infrastructure Ministry announced on Tuesday in a statement.
"The comprehensive reform includes the establishment of the Maritime Administration, which will assume the duties of the Ukrainian sea ports administration," Volodymyr Omelyan, Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister, was quoted as saying in the statement.
The reform, which is designed to enhance the efficiency of the country's sea ports, also envisages reorganization of the ports administration structure and optimization of the workforce, Omelyan said.
The decision to reform the maritime industry came amid reports of high-level corruption in the shipping sector, Omelyan said. Last month, several top officials of the sea ports administration illegally appropriated state funds worth tens of thousand of U.S. dollars.
Ukraine's maritime industry includes 14 ports on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, which last year together handled some 132 million tons of cargo. Enditem
