With the help of Romania, Ukraine can increase exports through the Danube ports

Ukraine currently exports about 2 million tons of grain and oil crops per month through Danube ports (a record 202 million tons were shipped in May), but wants to increase transshipment to 3 million tons/month, the Ukrainian Grain Association (UZA) said.

The European Commission is coordinating work with Romania and Ukraine on the activation of shipments. There are two entrances/exits to the Danube: Sulina and Bystre mouth. Currently, the European Commission has allocated funds for navigation equipment that will speed up navigation along Sulina. In addition, Romania is training additional pilots who will start working as early as August, which will allow the channel to operate 24 hours a day. Therefore, already in September, we can expect an increase in exports to 3 million tons.

To increase throughput, Ukraine is negotiating anchorages where ships could be loaded. At the meeting with the European Commission, the Minister of Transport of Romania confirmed the creation of an anchorage in the port of Constanţa, where they will be able to load 5 ships (three Handysize size of 25-27 thousand tons and two Panamax class up to 70 thousand tons). It will become operational at the end of August and will increase the turnover of river terminals and barges on the Danube. If barges are now arriving at Constanta and waiting for a vessel moored at the quay, in the future, ships will be loaded at anchor, which will increase the port's capacity. At the same time, the organization of the parking lot does not require investments, but only the relevant permit documentation.

Unfortunately, the port of Constanta is unable to handle large volumes of Ukrainian grain. Under ideal weather conditions, its carrying capacity is 30 million tons, but last year they set a record by transferring 25 million tons of grain. Even if transshipment volumes increase by another 1-2 million tons, it will not solve the problem of Ukraine, which plans to export 40-50 million tons of grain, says UZA.

Also, Ukraine plans to create anchorages in the territorial waters of Romania at the exit from Sulina, which will reduce the distance to the ports, speed up the turnover of barges and increase the volume of exports to 3.5-4 million tons per month. This would make it possible to use the terminals of Romania (Galatz) and Moldova (Giurgiulesti). It takes about 3 months to create such parking lots, UZA said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania confirmed the country's plans to increase the carrying capacity of the Danube canals and the number of ship captains from 40 to 60 people, involving retired and military personnel to speed up transit through the Danube canals, open new checkpoints on the border with Ukraine, and increase the number of personnel at existing checkpoints. Such measures will allow to increase the transit volume of Ukrainian grain by 50%.