Freight rates on the Danube have increased by more than 50% in a few days

In certain directions, the cost of transportation has almost doubled, but even this does not guarantee the willingness of shipowners to enter Ukrainian ports.

USM writes about this in the article about the suspension of the ports of Great Odesa.

As the operational manager of Avalon Shipping Kateryna Kononenko commented to the publication, the first reaction of the market became noticeable just a few days after the shelling of the ports of Great Odesa. If before the shelling, small consignments of goods to Egypt were chartered for $28–29 per ton, then within three days the charterers were agreeing to $43–44 per ton. At the height of the hype, shipowners announced even higher rates, as part of the cargo owners found themselves under the pressure of contractual obligations after the shutdown of deep-sea ports.

The founder of Marelis Navigation S.A. also speaks about the rapid increase in the price of Danube freight. Konstantin Sobol. According to his data, over the past two weeks, transportation from Izmail to the Sea of ​​Marmara has risen in price from $28 to $35-40 per ton, to Mersin from $33 to $40-47, to Lebanon from $34 to $42-48. The biggest increase was recorded on the route to Egypt, where rates for lots of 5-7 thousand tons rose from $35 to $43-55 per ton.

However, the interlocutors of USM note that the key problem of the market today is not only the record growth of rates. According to Kostyantyn Sobol, many shipowners who initially offered firm freight rates later withdrew them and refused to enter Ukrainian ports due to high military risks.

USM previously reported that attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea were the result of years of impunity.