New rules for passage through the Sulina Canal will affect ships heading to Ukrainian ports
27.04.2026 - 15:41
From April 16, 2026, Romania has changed the rules for passing through the Sulina Canal: from now on, all ships with cargo are required to submit a preliminary ENS declaration.
As Avalon Shipping Operations Manager Kateryna Kononenko reported, previously this requirement applied only to ships heading to Romanian ports. Instead, from now on, all loaded ships must submit an ENS (Entry Summary Declaration — a preliminary cargo declaration that contains information for customs control before the ship arrives).
Before the changes, this requirement applied only to ships calling directly at Romanian ports, in particular Galati, Braila and Tulcea. If the ship was transiting the Sulina Canal, for example, to Ukrainian ports, it was sufficient to complete simplified formal procedures. According to the new rules, ENS must now be submitted also for transit ships passing through the canal with cargo.
As Kononenko notes, in practice, the changes are not critical for shipowners. The costs are limited to an “additional line” in the PDA (Proforma Disbursement Account — a preliminary calculation of the ship’s port costs), and the ENS declaration itself costs approximately $50.
At the same time, the workload for ship agents increases. They must prepare data for the declaration, conduct additional communication with customs authorities, and also upload ENS to the MSW system (Maritime Single Window — a single electronic system for data exchange between ships and port services).
It is separately noted that the requirement to submit ENS does not apply to the exit of ships through the Sulin Canal. Thus, the new rules apply only to import operations, while export operations remain simplified.
