Traffic jam of Ukrainian grain ships in the small Romania’s Black Sea port of Sulina

Sulina, Romania (Ports Europe) June 4, 2022 - Dozens of Ukrainian barges, mostly carrying grain, are waiting for hours and days to enter the small Romanian Black Sea port of Sulina. Under normal circumstances the grain would be exported by ship from the Ukrainian port of Odessa. However, the invasion of the country by Russia has resulted in all Ukrainian seaports being blockaded and unable to export any cargo. Port of Sulina The Port of Sulina is a Romanian port situated on the Black Sea, close to the northern border with Ukraine and the last city through which the Danube River flows before entering the Black Sea. The port is on the right bank of the Sulina Channel, 140 km northeast of the largest Romanian port of Constanta. The port has a quay length of 5,940 m and depths of between 2.5 m and 7.5 m. Prior to the invasion, the port was mainly used by the Sulina Shipyard. Ships regularly calling at Sulina are general cargo (66%), oil/chemical tanker (8%), bulk carrier (2%), livestock carrier (2%) and passenger ships. The largest vessels that has ever entered the port was 216 m long. After occupying the Azov Sea ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol and establishing a naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Russian invading army turned Ukraine into a landlocked country unable to export its grain, oil seeds and metals. It is also critically important to help Ukraine export its grain from the 2021 harvest and prepare to export this year's harvest to world markets. In the next two months the new harvest will be ready for collecting. Ukraine is losing hundreds of millions of euros from delayed grain sales. Poor countries around the world are facing hunger and food prices are skyrocketing. For the fourth largest grain exporter in the world, the only way to send tens of million tonnes of its corn, wheat, sunflower to Middle East, Africa and Asia is via the Danube River. There are three small Ukrainian ports on the river – Reni, Ismail and Ust-Dunaisk. New ways to export Ukrainian grain However, there are several bottlenecks. 20 or 30-tonnes trucks carrying grain can only travel slowly to the ports. At the border with Romania, they are faced with considerable documentation requirements to be presented. The lack of common railway standard between Ukraine and Romania further delays forwarding grain. Further hindrances are poor railway and road infrastructure at the ports; outdated port equipment for handling grain; unprepared and overloaded organisation in neighbouring Romania. Barges with grain are waiting for days to pass through the Romanian Danube channel. According to Ciprian Cotiga from the Lower Danube Galați River Administration, the problem is that the port was designed for a certain cargo load and that it is not possible to switch from handling 3-4 ships per day to 70-80. After the control in Sulina, the barges/ships continue their way to the Romanian port of Giurgiulesti or Ukrainian Ismail, but their berths are also crowded, which amplifies the blockades. Romanian port officials claim that multiple Ukrainian ships try to enter the ports almost simultaneously, which is not possible in the Danube. Port of Constanța Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Romania’s Port of Constanta has become an important hub for Ukrainian grain exports, which are mostly loaded in the Danube ports of Reni and Ismail. The reorientation of the Ukrainian barges towards these ports has congested the traffic on the Danube and has increased the waiting times in Sulina harbour. A few days ago, the Sulina Free Zone Administration (AZL), the Sulina Port Authority and the Lower Danube River Administration (AFDJ) in Galaţi created a new mooring front in the city of Sulina to support the ships waiting for days to enter the waterway from the Black Sea. Regarding the Port of Constanța, the total traffic of goods from / to Ukraine in the three months of the war was about 820,000 tonnes, of which 363,000 tonnes of sea traffic and 457,000 tonnes of river traffic. Since the beginning of the war, 9,010 containers have arrived in the Port of Constanța, of which 3,484 have been shipped, the rest being stored in port terminals. Also, about 90,000 tonnes of grain are stored in silos in Constanta. More Ports Europe news about the Ukrainian crisis More Ports Europe news about Ukrainian grain More Ports Europe news about the Port of Constanța Copyright (C) Ports Europe. All Rights Reserved. 2022.

Traffic jam of Ukrainian grain ships in the small Romania’s Black Sea port of Sulina

All news

EU delegation visits Gioia Tauro port to see anti-drug efforts

Table: Russian ports monthly cargo results Oct’23-Oct’24

Russian ports handled 743 mln tonnes of cargo Jan-Oct’24

Reference: Russian occupation of neighbours’ territory

HHLA reports positive growth in the first nine months of 2024

Our Expert Analysis

Latest Free Reads

Top Ports

Traffic jam of Ukrainian grain ships in the small Romania’s Black Sea port of Sulina

Share this news:

All news

EU delegation visits Gioia Tauro port to see anti-drug efforts

Table: Russian ports monthly cargo results Oct’23-Oct’24

Russian ports handled 743 mln tonnes of cargo Jan-Oct’24

Reference: Russian occupation of neighbours’ territory

HHLA reports positive growth in the first nine months of 2024

Our Expert Analysis

Latest Free Reads

Top Ports