There will be no queues of ships at Sulina due to new rules for passing through the canal, opinion
5.11.2025 - 11:39
New restrictions on the passage of vessels carrying dangerous goods through the Sulina Canal will not lead to congestion, despite the fears of market participants.
This opinion was shared on LinkedIn by Avalon Shipping Operations Manager Kateryna Kononenko.
According to her, charterers have begun to raise the question of whether there will be queues due to the new rules for passing through the canal.
“Some have already included higher freight rates after agents in the ports informed them of the restrictions for vessels carrying dangerous goods. The main question remains: will there be queues? It is clear that everyone remembers 2022–2023, when about a hundred vessels were waiting at the approaches to Sulina, and they are afraid that this may happen again,” Kononenko recalled.
However, according to the manager, this time there will be no congestion. The main reason is that not many tankers or ships carrying dangerous goods arrive on the Danube every day.
In addition, the canal administration will increase the number of inspection teams checking ships, which should also speed up inspections. usually spends about an hour on each ship.
“Conclusion: there will be no long queues of 10–20 ships. Only small delays (2–3 days) are possible due to bad weather or waiting for a berth for unloading,” the expert concluded.
As a reminder, Romania has limited the passage of ships carrying dangerous goods at Sulina since November 1. According to the new rules, only two ships carrying dangerous goods will be allowed to pass through the Sulina Canal per day.
