Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published by The Maritime Executive

Published Jul 11, 2022 2:48 AM by The Maritime Executive

Ukraine is working to revive long-idled inland ports along the northern edge of the Danube River Delta, and with the removal of Russian forces from Snake Island, it may be able to increase their potential. 

The northernmost branch of the Danube delta follows Ukraine's southern border, and it is lined with a series of small riverine ports. These might not have merited global attention in years past, but with Russia blockading all of Ukraine's coastline, they have taken on a new importance. 

Odesa and Mykolaiv have historically handled a massive share of the nation's grain exports, but these seaports and terminals are cut off from global commerce by the Russian Navy. This leaves Ukraine with very few options for exporting its crops, and some 25 million tonnes of grain are currently sitting in storage. Road and rail transport are not up to the task of carrying this much grain overland into neighboring countries.

However, some of the ports on the Danube are taking up part of the load. The port at Reni, about 50 nm upriver on the northern branch of the Danube, has been underutilized but is now undergoing reactivation. Alla Stoyanova, head of the Odesa region's department of agricultural policy, told the Guardian that the Reni port complex can't replace Odesa, but it can contribute.

These inland ports can transship cargo by barge into Romania for onward transport, but they can realize additional potential if they are accessible from the sea. The area is accessible by two waterways: the narrow Sulina Canal through Romanian territory, which has limited capacity; and the Bysky estuary, the mouth of the Danube's northern branch. 

According to Stoyanova, over 150 ships have been waiting to enter the Sulina Canal, but they can only get through it at a pace of five or six vessels a day.  Until recently, the more capacious Bystry estuary route has been closed - but that has changed with the removal of Russian forces from Snake Island.

The small rock outcropping known as Snake Island (Zmiinyi Island) sits just 25 miles from the estuary's mouth, and it had been occupied by a well-armed Russian garrison up until the end of June. A sustained barrage of Ukrainian artillery fire forced the occupying Russian troops to depart on June 30. Now that the Russian forces have been removed from the area, the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine believes it is safe to reopen the Bystry route to shipping.

"Given the liberation of Zmiinyi Island from Russian troops and the build-up of a large number of ships waiting to proceed through the Sulina Canal, it is possible to use the channel of the Bystre estuary of the Danube-Black Sea waterway for the entry/exit of ships transporting agricultural produce," the administration announced Saturday. 

Published Jul 11, 2022 2:48 AM by The Maritime Executive

Ukraine is working to revive long-idled inland ports along the northern edge of the Danube River Delta, and with the removal of Russian forces from Snake Island, it may be able to increase their potential.  The northernmost branch of the Danube delta follows Ukraine's southern border, and it is lined with a series of small riverine ports. These might not have merited global attention in years past, but with Russia blockading all of Ukraine's coastline, they have taken on a...

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