Offers for transportation by firewood have almost disappeared from Izmail and Reni, — ASAP Agri

The shortage of vessels and congestion on the Sulina Canal increase the cost of freight and risks for carriers.

In the freight market of Ukraine, offers for transportation from the ports of Reni and Izmail have practically disappeared. This was reported by CEO of ASAP Agri and broker Atria Brokers Kristina Serebryakova, writes Elevatorist.

This situation has been going on for the second week and is associated with limited availability of vessels and increased risks of performing voyages. One of the main problems remains the accumulation of vessels near the Sulinsky Canal.

As of August 25, more than 50 vessels were waiting to pass through it, while only 5–7 vessels were heading towards Ukrainian Danube ports daily. Because of this, shipowners are adding additional fees for downtime to their rates. According to Taras Panasyuk, head of the freight brokerage department at Atria Brokers, each day of waiting for a vessel costs approximately $5,000–8,000.

Accordingly, long delays on Sulina directly affect the cost of transportation and exacerbate the shortage of available tonnage on the Danube route.

The situation may become more complicated in the coming days due to adverse weather conditions. Previous experience shows that large-scale traffic jams on the Sulina Canal can paralyze vessel traffic for a long period. During peak traffic jams in 2022–2023, the wait for passage through the canal reached more than a month.