More than 70 ships are stuck in a traffic jam on the Danube

More than 70 ships are stuck in a queue on the Danube, waiting for access to Ukrainian ports to load grain for export. The reason is a shortage of pilots and a backlog of other cargo that is being given priority.

According to Reuters, due to the blockade of Black Sea ports—which previously handled 90% of the country’s grain exports—some cargo has been rerouted to Danube river ports. However, their throughput capacity is significantly lower.

Grain ships are forced to compete for passage through the Sulina Canal with fuel shipments, which have higher priority. The situation is further complicated by frequent air raid alerts, which constantly halt port operations.

According to the consulting firm ASAP Agri, as of August 25, more than 50 vessels were waiting to pass through the Sulinsky Strait. At the same time, only five to seven vessels per day were able to proceed to Ukraine’s Danube ports.

The company estimated that each day of delay could cost up to $8,000—on top of the already high shipping rates. ASAP Agri also warned that the situation could worsen if the weather deteriorates in the coming days.

Kateryna Kononenko , Operations Manager at Avalon Shipping, reported that the Sulina Canal is expected to be closed for approximately two days due to inclement weather.

According to her, about 70 vessels are currently waiting in the Sulinsky roadstead, while the canal’s actual throughput capacity for vessels heading to Ukrainian ports is only two to three vessels per day.

Ukraine had already been relying on Danube ports at the start of the full-scale war, when Russia blocked the ports in the Odesa region. Back then, in 2022–2023, grain exports via the Danube peaked at 2.5 million metric tons per month.

Volumes currently remain significantly lower than that level, although they are gradually increasing. According toUkrzaliznytsia, 11 times more grain was transported by rail to the Danube ports in August than in July.

At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture reports that from August 1 to 21, Ukraine exported 539,000 metric tons of grain. A year earlier, during the same period, the figure was 1.73 million metric tons.

Ірина Глухова