Waiting at Sulina could cost a ship $160,000 in 40 days

The long wait for ships at the Sulina roadstead creates significant additional costs for carriers.

This was reported by Avalon Shipping Operations Manager Kateryna Kononenko.

She spoke about a ship that arrived at the Sulina roadstead on September 25, and which as of October 27 had been waiting for more than a month and is still in approximately 50th place in the queue.

According to Kononenko, even in the most favorable scenario, the ship will have to wait at least another 10 days. This forecast assumes that the Sulina Canal will remain open for the next two weeks, and five pilots will work daily to guide ships to Ukrainian ports.

At the same time, according to Kononenko, the actual wait could last another two weeks or longer.

The operations manager also drew attention to the economic consequences of the long downtime of ships. According to her calculations, at a notional demurrage rate of $4,000 per day, 40 days of waiting could cost $160,000.

Kononenko noted that previously this amount could have been enough to pay for the freight for an entire voyage. In her opinion, long queues and the associated costs call into question the economic feasibility of transportation through Danube ports.

“How commercially viable can Danube logistics be if waiting at the entrance costs more than the transportation itself?” Kononenko noted.

Earlier, USM reported that Ukraine and Romania are working on introducing night shipping on the Sulina.