Vessels cannot reach Ukrainian ports on the Danube due to queue at Sulina
20.10.2026 - 17:41
About 80 vessels are waiting to pass through Sulina, while some berths in Ukrainian Danube ports remain free.
This was reported by Avalon Shipping Operations Manager Kateryna Kononenko.
According to her, three berths were free the day before in the port of Reni, while vessels continued to wait at the Sulina roadstead.
Kononenko noted that the cargoes are ready for departure, the berths are ready to receive vessels, but the vessels themselves cannot reach the ports due to the queue on the canal.
The distance between the Sulina roadstead and the ports of destination is about 70 nautical miles, but cargo operations do not begin due to delays. As a result, demurrage and other logistical costs for charterers are increasing. According to Kononenko, part of this financial burden is ultimately transferred to Ukrainian agricultural producers and exporters.
As an example, she gave a calculation: with an average deadweight of about 5 thousand tons for 80 ships in the queue, this amounts to approximately 400 thousand tons of unused ship capacity. This tonnage could be used to transport cargo and support the operation of Danube ports, but is actually idle waiting for passage through the canal.
Kononenko emphasized that the Danube should remain one of the key routes for Ukrainian exports, but the current delays reduce the efficiency of its use.
USM previously reported that new rules were introduced at Sulina to speed up the passage of ships.
