Romania to change vessel clearance procedures for the Sulina Canal

Vessels heading to Danube ports through the Sulina Canal are expected to be cleared while still in the Black Sea. At present, clearance takes place inside the canal. The change is intended to reduce a queue in which waiting times have exceeded two weeks.

The procedure is particularly relevant to vessels bound for Ukraine’s ports of Izmail and Reni. Clearing ships before they enter the canal could allow more vessels to pass through each day, reduce reliance on berths in Sulina and eliminate unnecessary manoeuvres. A shortage of pilots and increased traffic, however, will continue to affect transit times. In late August, the queue of vessels bound for Ukrainian Danube ports reached approximately 80 ships.

The delays have affected grain exports. Delivery times for Ukrainian grain to Egypt have risen from 12 days to more than a month. As of 23 September, Ukraine had exported approximately 930,000 tonnes of grain since the beginning of the month, compared with 1.78 million tonnes during the corresponding period in 2025. These figures refer to Ukraine’s total grain exports, not solely shipments through the Danube.

Comment from the Institute of Danube Research

Moving clearance outside the canal could remove some procedural delays. Its effectiveness should be measured by the number of vessels passing through Sulina each day and by waiting times in both directions. A sustained increase in capacity will also require coordination between Romanian and Ukrainian authorities, enough pilots and predictable vessel scheduling. For Ukrainian exporters, every additional day of waiting raises transport costs and makes delivery times less reliable.