Romania's Constanta port to provide additional berth for Ukrainian grain

MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - The Romanian port of Constanta will outfit an additional berth for transhipment of Ukrainian grain, Ukrainian media reported Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) as saying on its Telegram channel.

"Our Romanian colleagues announced the completion of a tender for its organization during a trilateral meeting," UDP said.

The company said it was one of the initiators of the project last year, as Constanta's terminals did not have enough capacity to handle grain traffic from Ukraine. There "were up to 600 barges with grain at the port that waited for unloading for 30-40 days," UDP said.

Now most Ukrainian agricultural exports have returned to Greater Odessa ports, but the Danube route remains relevant and the new "berth will not be idle," UDP said. The Danube is a backup route, so there are plans to replace Ukrainian grain with other agricultural products. UDP has plans to ship up to 200,000-250,000 tonnes per month to Constanta.

"We are offering a comprehensive service - river charter plus ship-to-ship transfer in Constanta. If the main export flow from Ukraine again returns to the Danube, the berth will become a lifesaver that will significantly increase the throughput capacity of our logistics model," UDP said.