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Danube News

06 Mar 2024

Rubymar Sinking Puts Coral Reefs At Risk

(Photo: U.S. Central Command)

When the Rubymar sank in the Red Sea after a Houthi attack, the ship went down carrying 21,000-tonnes of fertiliser which could trigger massive algal blooms that could create "dead zones" for marine life and starve coral reefs of light.Alongside a slick of leaking fuel, the ammonium phosphate sulphate fertilisers could deliver an extreme pulse of nutrients into waters harbouring rare corals, marine mammals and reef fish, creating a spread of foamy scum on the water.According to a maritime warning circulated to ships in the area…

24 Jan 2024

Ukraine's Black Sea Grain Export Success Tested by Red Sea Crisis

© wifesun / Adobe Stock

Ukraine has managed to boost its Black Sea grain exports to a level not seen since before Russia's invasion, although the Red Sea shipping crisis poses a new challenge to its crucial agricultural trade.Kyiv's success in replacing a UN-backed Black Sea export deal with its own shipping scheme has brought relief for Ukrainian farmers and importing countries while representing a naval breakthrough for Ukraine's military as a land counteroffensive has stalled.The export turnaround…

11 Jan 2024

Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria Unite to Clear Floating Mines in Black Sea

© Grispb / Adobe Stock

Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria signed an agreement on Thursday on a joint plan to clear mines floating in the Black Sea as a result of the war in Ukraine, following months of talks between the NATO allies.Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler, his Romanian counterpart Angel Tilvar and Bulgaria's Deputy Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov signed a memorandum of understanding in Istanbul to form a trilateral initiative to clear the explosives."With the start of the war, a threat of floating mines in the Black Sea has arisen. To combat it ...

28 Dec 2023

Bulk Carrier Hits Mine in Black Sea, Two People Injured

© Grispb / Adobe Stock

A Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was headed to a River Danube port to load grain has hit a mine in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.It was the latest incident of a civilian vessel hitting an explosive in the Black Sea in what Kyiv says is stepped-up Russian attacks on shipping and port infrastructure."A Panama-flagged civilian vessel was blown up on an enemy sea mine in the Black Sea...The vessel lost its course and control, and a fire broke out on the upper deck…

12 Dec 2023

Palmali Aims to Expand Shipping Ops in the Black Sea

Copyright Peter Hermes Furian/AdobeStock

Istanbul-based tanker operator Palmali has become the top shipper for Ukraine's Black Sea-borne sunflower oil exports, one of the country's key export products, and plans to expand further, its chairman Mubariz Mansimov said.Azeri-born Mansimov said Palmali was the most active operator in the increasingly dangerous Black Sea, and plans to expand its presence in Ukraine by placing an order for 10 more cargo carriers and starting trading operations early next year. Since pulling out of the U.N.-brokered deal that guaranteed safe shipment of Ukrainian food products in July…

05 Dec 2023

Management Change at German Dry Bulk Shipper

(from left to right) Pascal Rodius, Monique Hezel-Reyntjens, Florian Bleikamp.
Copyright: HGK Shipping GmbH

Monique Hezel-Reyntjens will retire effective December 31, 2023, having worked in and led what is now known as BeKa HGK GmbH for almost 42 years. Her parents, Franz Josef and Corrie Becker founded the dry shipping company in 1982. Monique Hezel-Reyntjenshas played a significant role in the success story at BeKa HGK; she worked in the chartering section from the outset and in the course of time became a shareholder and has been its managing director up to now. She will be succeeded by Florian Bleikamp (34)…

15 Nov 2023

Marsh, Lloyd's, Ukraine Launch War Risk Ship Insurance to Cut Grain Costs

© glebzter / Adobe Stock

Insurance broker Marsh MMC.N, Lloyd's of London insurers and Ukrainian state banks have launched a programme to cut the cost of claims for damage to ships and crew transporting grain through the Black Sea corridor, Marsh said on Wednesday.Kyiv launched a "humanitarian corridor" in August for ships bound for Africa and Asia to circumvent a de facto blockade in the Black Sea after Russia quit a United Nations-brokered deal that had guaranteed Kyiv's seaborne exports during the war.Lloyd's of London insurers will underwrite the programme…

23 Oct 2023

Ukraine's Farmers Look to New Black Sea Route to Boost Food Exports

© Richard Cff / Adobe Stock

Agricultural producers in Ukraine say a new Black Sea corridor could enable exports of up to 2.5 million metric tons of food a month, almost offsetting the impact of Russia's decision to quit a U.N.-brokered deal to allow grain shipments through the region.The export deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey collapsed in July as Russia declined to recognize it, saying its demand that sanctions be lifted on its grain and fertilizer exports had not been met.Kyiv has since opened what it says is a temporary humanitarian corridor in a bid to break Russia's de facto blockade.

16 Oct 2023

Tanker Hits Mine in Black Sea

A Liberian-flagged oil products tanker hit a mine on Sunday in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania and sustained minor damage, but the crew was safe, sources said on Monday.It is the second vessel this month to have been hit by a floating mine in the Black Sea, in a reminder of the continued perils faced by commercial ships in the region.The Ali Najafov tanker was sailing near to the Sulina channel near Romania when the blast occurred on Sunday, Yoruk Isik, head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy, told Reuters.A Ukrainian source separately confirmed the vessel had struck a mine.The vessel's Istanbul-based manager Palmali, listed in shipping databases, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

06 Oct 2023

Turkish Ship Not Damaged in Black Sea Explosion – Maritime Authority

A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship that was sailing on Thursday in the Black Sea en route to Ukraine's Izmail port did not sustain damage from an explosion, Turkey's maritime authority and the ship's captain told Reuters on Friday."An explosion occurred 15-20 meters behind the Kafkametler ship en route to Izmail port from Batumi port while it was cruising off the coast of Romania/Sulina (port)," the authority said.The ship continued sailing to its destination to deliver its cargo following checks, and there was no evidence that the explosion was caused by a mine, it added.Maritime sources told Reuters on Thursday that the vessel had hit a sea mine and sustained minor damage…

06 Oct 2023

Turkish Ship Hits Mine in Black Sea, Sustains Minor Damage

A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship hit a mine on Thursday in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania and sustained minor damage but the crew was safe, maritime and security sources said.British maritime security company Ambrey, citing information it received, said the ship struck a sea mine 11 nautical miles north of Sulina in Romania, near the entrance to the Sulina Canal."The vessel reportedly experienced an explosion at approximately 0920 UTC (GMT). The vessel dropped anchor for a short period to assess the damage," Ambrey said in a note."At 1210, the vessel resumed sailing," Ambrey said adding that no casualties were reported.It was one of the first incidents for some months involving a ship hitting a sea mine.

04 Oct 2023

Ukraine Expects 12 More Cargo Ships at Its Black Sea Ports

Credit: wifesun/AdobeStock

Ukraine's navy said on Wednesday that 12 more cargo vessels were ready to enter a fledgling Black Sea shipping corridor on their way to Ukrainian ports, as Kyiv steps up a push to defy a de facto Russian blockade on its vital sea exports.Russia, which has a much more powerful and bigger naval fleet in the Black Sea, pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed wartime Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what is traditionally its main export corridor. Ukraine responded by setting up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" for cargo vessels…

26 Sep 2023

Russia Hits Ukrainian Port Facilities

© Mikhail / Adobe Stock

Ukrainian officials said Russia struck Ukrainian port infrastructure and grain storage facilities on Tuesday, but also reported some progress on the front lines in the three-month old counteroffensive by its forces.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke of "good details" from the front without further explanation and said Ukraine clearly understood where to apply pressure to make it felt in Moscow."Sanctions are not enough. There will also be more of our own Ukrainian actions against the terrorist state," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

22 Sep 2023

First Big Grain Ship Leaves Ukraine's Black Sea Port

The first big ship carrying grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port has set sail since Moscow quit a deal in July to allow exports, a Ukrainian deputy prime minister said on Friday, part of Kyiv's campaign to break Russia's de facto blockade.The Aroyat "left the port Chornomorsk after loading 17,600 (metric tons of) Ukrainian wheat for Egypt," Oleksandr Kubrakov said on the X social media app, formerly Twitter.He posted a photo of the ship at sea. It was the second of two bulk carriers to leave the port this week using what Kyiv calls a new temporary humanitarian corridor. The first, the much smaller Resilient Africa, left on Tuesday, testing the route with a cargo of just 3…

21 Sep 2023

Baltic Index Snaps 11-session Rally as Rates for Larger Vessels Edge Lower

Credit: cloudvisual/AdobeStock

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, snapped its 11-session winning streak on Thursday as rates for capesize and panamax vessels edged lower.The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax and supramax shipping vessels, fell by 15 points to 1,569.The capesize index shed 60 points, or 2.9%, to 2,007, its worst day since Sept. 5.Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transports 150…

20 Sep 2023

VIDEO: Cargo Ship Crew Evacuated after Explosion Near Romanian Danube Port

Credit: ARSVOM

The crew of a Togo-flagged general cargo ship bound for one of Ukraine's Danube river ports was evacuated early on Wednesday after an explosion on board near the Romanian port of Sulina, Romanian officials said.The Seama ship reported an explosion early on Wednesday and requested the evacuation of the 12-person crew near Sulina, where the Danube flows into the Black Sea."At the moment the causes ... are unclear, whether it was a mine or merely an explosion in the engine room," Romanian…

18 Sep 2023

Ukraine Asks Romanian Port to Allow Ship-to-ship Grain Transfers

© wifesun / Adobe Stock

Ukraine’s Danube Shipping Company (DSC) has asked Romania’s Constanta Black Sea port to allow ship-to-ship grain transfers which would almost double its barge export capacity, the company said on Monday.A major grower and exporter, Ukraine’s 2023 grain output is seen at up to 56 million metric tons but a blockade of its major Black Sea ports since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 has constrained shipments.Ukraine’s Danube river ports, which previously accounted for around a quarter of grain exports, are now the main route out for the country’s harvest, some of which is sent on barges to Cons

15 Sep 2023

EU Does Not Extend Ban on Ukraine Grains Imports to Neighboring EU Countries

© dechevm / Adobe Stock

The European Commission said on Friday that it would not extend a ban on imports of Ukrainian grains into Ukraine's five EU neighbors due to expire on Friday."It has concluded that thanks to the work of the Coordination Platform and to the temporary measures introduced on 2 May 2023, the market distortions in the 5 Member States bordering Ukraine have disappeared," the European Commission said in a statement.Restrictions imposed by the European Union in May allowed Poland, Bulgaria…

07 Sep 2023

Ukraine Says It's Shipping Grain via Croatian Ports

© Richard Cff / Adobe Stock

Ukraine has started exporting grain via Croatian seaports, aiming to broaden its export routes while its Black Sea ports are blocked, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday.Ukraine's main grain export route is usually via its deep Black Sea ports, but Kyiv has been looking for alternative routes since Russia invasion last year and Moscow's decision to quit the Black Sea grain export deal in mid-July.Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a visit to Zagreb in late July…

04 Sep 2023

Ukraine Limits Cargo Shipments to Danube Port after Russian Strikes

Port Izmail - Credit: watcherfox/AdobeStock

Ukrainian railways have partially restricted cargo shipments to Ukraine's major Danube River port Izmail, which has been the target of Russian drone attacks in recent weeks, the railways said on Monday.The restrictions began on Sunday, the railways said in a statement.Russia has attacked Ukrainian ports on the Danube River with drones two nights in a row. The latest attack on the Danube River port of Izmail, in Ukraine's southern Odesa region, hit warehouses and production buildings…

28 Aug 2023

Damen Shipyards Galati Celebrates 130 Years

Source: Damen Shipyards Galati

This year sees a milestone moment for Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania as the yard marks 130 years of operation. Part of the Damen Shipyards Group since 1999, the Galati yard has been responsible for some of the company’s largest and most complex vessel deliveries to date.The Galati yard, on the banks of the Danube, first opened its gates in 1893. Beginning life as a mechanical construction and iron and bronze foundry, by 1897, it had gone into the ship repair business and was known as G. Fernic et Co Shipyard.

24 Aug 2023

Ukraine's Odesa Region Introduces New Grain Export Control Mechanism

© danimages / Adobe Stock

The southern Ukrainian region of Odesa, which has ports on the Black Sea and Danube River, is introducing a new export control mechanism for grain, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Thursday."From now on, vessels (barges) will be loaded only after a preliminary analysis of the legality of the grain's origin," he said, adding that all customs declarations would have to be registered prior to the loading of export goods.The measure is aimed at strengthening discipline, accounting and reporting in foreign economic activity, he said.Analysts have said that a significant amount of grain is bough

23 Aug 2023

Russia Hits Grain Facilities at Ukrainian Danube River Port

© Alexander Shatyrov / Adobe Stock

Russian drones struck Ukrainian grain facilities at the Danube River port of Izmail overnight in what a senior official said on Wednesday was a systematic attempt by Moscow to prevent Kyiv exporting grain to the world.Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the port's export capacity had been reduced by 15% and that 13,000 metric tons of grain had been destroyed.Grain facilities in the Odesa region on the Black Sea also came under fire in the eighth wave of attacks on Ukrainian…