The acronym BLASCO refers to the Black Sea Shipping Company, a major state-owned maritime company that was once one of the largest in the world.

Early Origins (1833): The company's roots can be traced back to the Black Sea Society of Steamships, established in 1833 to facilitate communication between Odesa and Istanbul. After a period of inactivity, it was re-established in 1922 as the Black Sea-Azov Sea Shipping Company.

After World War II, the company was split into several entities, and the Black Sea Shipping Company (BLASCO) emerged as a dominant force. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was considered the largest shipping company in Europe and the second-largest in the world, with a fleet of hundreds of vessels.

In 1993, a state conglomeration called "Blasko" was created, but this effort was ultimately unsuccessful. The company's fleet was rapidly and suspiciously dispersed in the mid-1990s, with many ships being sold to offshore companies or scrapped.

The history of BLASCO serves as a case study of the challenges faced by large state-owned enterprises.

The transition of BLASCO from state control to a private enterprise leads us toward a market-oriented approach.

As a commercial entity, the new BLASCO will be fully focused on efficiency, profitability, and competition in the global market, rather than on fulfilling state tasks.