Ukraine is exploring multiple options to ship out its goods. A month earlier than anticipated, Romania has reopened the Soviet-era rail link that runs from the Danube River port of Galati to Ukraine. Grain shipments from Ukraine that travel through Moldova can arrive in Galati and be loaded onto barges before being transported farther, such as to the Black Sea port of Constanta.
In the early stages of the conflict, Constanta served as a crucial centre for Ukrainian shipments, but it is now functioning at full capacity for both dry bulk and containers. This week, the Turkish terminal Safiport will receive some of the boxes now being stored at the congested Constanta terminal by the Danish carrier Maersk. Meanwhile, a port in landlocked Moldova located at the confluence of Danube and Prut rivers, is showing dramatically increased cargo volumes in the wake of war.
Giurgiulesti Port, Moldova’s only commercial access to international waters, has reported cargo volumes have more than doubled to more than 800,000 tons in the first half of the year, mainly due to increasing imports of petroleum oil products, coal and fertiliser and exports of grains and vegetable oil. Construction of a new $5m terminal is now underway, due to open in the second half of next year. Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Varna is also positioning itself to take some of the load from Ukraine. With Constanta filling up, shippers are making more enquiries about using Varna in recent weeks. Like in Romania, the government of Bulgaria has simplified cross-border rules for trucks carrying Ukrainian import and export cargoes. Further north, ports in Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea are also taking some Ukrainian agri-products to international markets, developing a transit corridor from Ukraine which bypasses Belarus.
