From now on, ships with a draft of 6.5 meters can pass by the Bystry Estuary on the Danube River. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine announced this on its Facebook page on Friday, February 17.
According to the order dated February 16, issued by the port of Izmail, the passing draft of vessels in the section from the 0th kilometer of the Bystry mouth of the Danube River to the 77th kilometer of the Kiliya mouth is 6.5 meters, and from the 77th km to the 116th km of the Kiliya mouth – 7 meters.
It is noted that at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the maximum draft was only 3.9 meters.
The Danube port cluster has significantly developed its export capacity over the past year. Since March 2022 alone, cargo transshipment in the ports of Izmail, Reni and Ust-Dunaysk has tripled. In general, more than 3 million tons of products were exported from them, including over 17 million tons of food.
“Such dynamics and still existing problems with exports through seaports make the development of the infrastructure of the Danube region a priority for our work. As part of this work and thanks to the success of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Black Sea, we have already opened the Bystroye Estuary for shipping, and increased the port transshipment potential. We also continue dredging in the Ukrainian part of the Danube,” said the Minister for the Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov.
According to him, it was possible to increase the allowable draft of ships for the first time under independent Ukraine. This became possible due to the elimination of the consequences of drifting, the removal of sediment from the soil, the elimination of riffles and the restoration of passport characteristics within the waters of the seaports of Ukraine.
“Thanks to this, we will be able to ensure more efficient and safe navigation between the Black Sea and the Danube River, as well as increase cargo traffic through the ports of the Danube,” the minister emphasized.
Earlier it was reported that Ukraine increased grain exports along the Danube by 42 times. The ports of Izmail, Reni and Ust-Dunaysk on the Danube River in January-November 2022 increased the volume of cargo transshipment by 2.9 times compared to the same period in 2021.
