Over 50 vessels are awaiting passage through the Sulina Canal to Ukrainian Danube ports to load grain for export due to a shortage of pilots and the prioritization of other cargoes, Reuters reports.
"After Russian attacks effectively blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which had handled 90% of the country’s grain exports, some shipments were rerouted through Danube river ports, which have much lower capacity," the report says.
The situation is complicated by competition among grain cargoes for access to the canal with higher-priority shipments, particularly fuel. In addition, port operations must be suspended during air raid alerts, causing additional delays.
According to consulting company ASAP Agri, as of August 25, over 50 vessels were awaiting passage through the Sulina Canal, while only five to seven vessels daily were heading to Ukrainian Danube ports.
The company noted that each day of delay could cost up to $8,000, further driving up already high freight rates.
"For the current situation, this is really a serious setback. Today, about 70 vessels are waiting at Sulina road. At the moment, the real traffic capacity of the Sulina Channel for vessels going to Ukrainian ports is only two to three vessels per day. This is very low," said Kateryna Kononenko, operations manager at Avalon Shipping.
