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Port Of Constanta News

19 Nov 2023

Grain Ship Damaged Off Ukraine, Likely Hit Sea Mine

© Grispb / Adobe Stock

A merchant ship transporting grains was lightly damaged off the coast of Ukraine and was likely to have been hit by a floating sea mine, according to maritime specialists and a Ukrainian government source.This is the latest incident affecting commercial ships sailing in the Black Sea.War risk insurance premiums have risen to as much as 3% of the value of a vessel after a missile damaged a merchant ship in the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi last week, industry sources said.Four maritime and trade sources said the Liberia-flagged Georgia S bulk carrier laden with a wheat cargo was sailing from Pivd

16 Aug 2023

Cargo Ship Leaves Ukrainian Port Despite Russian Threat of Attack

Credit: Mariusz/AdobeStock

A container ship set off from Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa on Wednesday in a test of Russia's threat to attack shipping after it abandoned a deal last month allowing Ukraine to export grain.The departure of the Hong-Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte, which had been in the port since Feb. 23, 2022 - the day before Russia's invasion - followed a new Russian attack on Ukraine's grain export infrastructure.Russian air strikes damaged grain silos and warehouses at one of the Danube river ports…

16 Aug 2023

Ukraine says Russian Drones Threatened Danube Port

© watcherfox / Adobe Stock

Ukraine's air force on Wednesday said a large group of Russian army drones entered the mouth of the Danube River and headed toward the Izmail river port near the border with Romania.Social media groups reported hearing air defence systems firing in the area near two Danube ports - Izmail and Reni.The governor of southern Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, asked residents of Izmail district to take shelter at around 1:30 a.m. (2230 GMT) and cancelled the air raid alert one hour later.Ukraine's…

14 Aug 2023

Ships Backed Up in Black Sea Lanes as Russia Warning Shots Raise Tensions

© daliu / Adobe Stock

Merchant ships remained backed up in lanes around the Black Sea on Monday as ports struggled to clear backlogs amid growing unease among insurers and shipping companies a day after a Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo vessel.Russia said its Vasily Bykov patrol ship on Sunday fired on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. After an inspection, the vessel continued its journey towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail along the Danube river…

08 Aug 2023

Black Sea Exporters Struggle to Clear Danube Shipping Backlog

© watcherfox / Adobe Stock

Dozens of ships are backed up around critical Danube arteries close to Ukraine's river gateways days after Russian drone attacks on the country's ports, shipping data showed on Tuesday.The river and its mouth are Ukraine's last remaining waterborne grain export route.Russia has attacked the agricultural and port infrastructure of Ukraine, one of the world's top grain exporters, in recent weeks after refusing to extend a year-old safe passage grain corridor brokered by the United…

03 Aug 2023

Romania Bids to Clear Danube Logjam after Ukraine Attack

© BGStock72 / Adobe Stock

Romania expects around 30 ships from Ukraine to clear customs on the Danube River over the next two days as it bids to clear a logjam in the aftermath of Wednesday's Russian attack on Ukraine's main river port at Izmail.The river and its mouth, now Ukraine's last waterborne grain export route, are backed up with vessels travelling to and from Ukrainian ports, commercial ship tracking data shows.Romanian authorities managing the waterway still expect a "peak" in traffic in August…

20 Feb 2023

Romania Asks to Check Ukrainian Canal Dredging in Sensitive Danube Delta

© luzitanija/AdobeStock

Romania said on Monday it was concerned by signs that neighboring Ukraine was dredging a canal that sliced through a shared, ecologically sensitive coastal region, and asked if it could check the site.Ukraine has been transporting grain on the Bystroe canal as it develops alternative routes for its exports while access to its Black Sea ports is limited by Russia's invasion.Romania has said it is concerned that any works on the waterway through the shared Danube Delta area could…

09 Sep 2022

Romanian Navy Ship Hit by Drifting Mine in Black Sea

(Photo: Romanian Navy)

A Romanian Navy vessel hit a drifting mine it was trying to defuse in bad weather on Thursday, but the crew of 75 were unharmed by the explosion, the defense ministry said.Mines began floating in the Black Sea after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish military diving teams have been defusing those drifting in their waters.The ministry said the ship was alerted about a mine drifting about 25 nautical miles northeast from the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta…

24 May 2022

Ukraine Seeking Ways to Get its Grain Out

 A grain carrier in a Ukrainian port back in 2021 - ©Elena/AdobeStock

Ukraine is seeking ways to get grain and vegetable oils out of the country by breaking a months-long blockade of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea by the Russian navy and moving more by land.The war, together with Western sanctions against Russia, have sent the price of grain, cooking oil, fertilizer, and energy soaring.That in turn, is threatening a global food crisis as many countries count on Russia and Ukraine for more than half of their wheat imports, including some of the poorest.Russia and Ukraine together account for nearly a third of the global wheat supply…

29 Apr 2022

First Ukrainian Corn Cargo Leaves Romanian Black Sea Port

A cargo carrying over 71,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn finished loading in the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta on Thursday, the first since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the manager of port operator Comvex said.With Ukraine's sea ports blocked since the war started more than two months ago, the world's fourth-largest grain exporter has been forced to send shipments by train via its western border or through its small Danube river ports into Romania."This is the first panamax vessel with Ukrainian corn to leave the port," Comvex President Viorel Panait told Reuters.The ship taking the cargo is the Unity N, according to a Reuters witness."Supporting Ukrainian grain exports means preventing a colossal wave of global hunger triggered by the blocking of Ukrainian ports…

26 Apr 2022

Ukrainian Grains Reach Romanian Black Sea Port

© Photosebia / Adobe Stock

Ukraine has sent around 80,000 tones of grains to the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta so far, with more expected to arrive, the port's manager said on Tuesday.Ukraine's sea ports have been blocked since a Russian invasion two months ago and the country, a major agricultural producer, has been forced to export by train via its western border or via its small Danube river ports into Romania.European Union member Romania shares borders of the Black Sea - a major shipping artery for grain and oil - with Bulgaria…

12 Mar 2021

Two Die, Ten Rescued as Russian Cargo Ship Sinks in Black Sea, Off Romania

Two people died and ten were rescued after the Russian cargo ship Volgo Balt 179 sank in the Black Sea off Romania early morning on Thursday, according to reports from Romania.Romanian offshore services company GSP Offshore said that its GSP Falcon offshore vessel had received a distress call from the cargo ship at 4:40 in the morning.GSP said that the rescue operation started in extremely difficult weather conditions with strong wind and high waves."The last message sent by "Volgo Balt 179" was the abandonment of the ship. So far, 10 sailors have been rescued. They are safely on board the GSP Falcon. Two people died. At the same time…

13 Nov 2020

Pakistan Navy Commissions New Corvette

PNS Tabuk during sea trials (Photo: Damen)

The Pakistan Navy commissioned its new Corvette PNS Tabuk at the Port of Constanta, Romania, on Thursday.The ship, a Damen OPV 1900, is part of a two vessel order with Damen, signed by the Pakistan Ministry of Defense in 2017. Both ships are built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. The first vessel, PNS Yarmook, joined the Pakistan Navy’s fleet in February this year.Like her sister vessel, PNS Tabuk is a multipurpose, highly adaptable platform, capable of performing a wide variety of operations in a complex maritime environment.

08 Sep 2016

Romanian Trading House Declined to Ship Egyptian Wheat Over Ergot Rule

Photo courtesy of Cerealcom Dolj

Romanian grain trading house Cerealcom Dolj said on Thursday it had declined to ship wheat to Egypt because of new rules about ergot fungus content, refuting reports that Egyptian inspectors had rejected a 63,000 tonne cargo. Traders said on Wednesday that Egyptian inspectors had rejected the wheat shipment in a Romanian port after checking for ergot, the first time difficulties with a cargo at a loading port had been reported since Egypt introduced a zero content level on ergot late last month.

23 Feb 2016

Ecoslops Issues €5.5 Mln Bonds for Growth

Ecoslops, the first company to develop a technology to sustainably produce marine fuels from refined marine oil residues (‘slops’), has announced the successful issuance of ORNANE convertible bonds for the nominal value of €5.5 million. Following the commercial validation of its first micro-refining plant in the Port of Sinès, Portugal, the additional capital will be used to accelerate the development of new projects, while continuing to ramp up the initial operation to full capacity by the end of 2016. Vincent Favier, CEO, Ecoslops, said,  “Our micro-refinery in the Port of Sinès has shown its capability to transform 98% of hydrocarbon residue into marketable and certified products, exceeding expectations.

19 Jan 2016

Romania Reopens Black Sea Ports, Weather Improves

Romania's Black Sea ports including the main port of Constanta reopened on Tuesday after a two-day stoppage as snowfalls and winds eased, a port official said. "Constanta reopened at 9:15 a.m. (0715 GMT)," the duty port officer told Reuters. Snow is not forecast for the next few days but temperatures are set to remain around minus 15 degrees Celsius. Blizzards dropped up to a metre of snow on Sunday, disrupting trains and forcing authorities to shut down all schools in Bucharest and nearby counties. Reporting by Maria Gerth-Niculescu

15 Dec 2015

Ecoslops to Implement Recycling Unit in the Romanian Port of Constanta

Ecoslops has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP), a leading offshore drilling and construction company, to conduct a feasibility study for the development of an oil residues processing plant in the Romanian Port of Constanta, on the Black Sea. Ecoslops is the first company to develop technology to produce recycled marine fuels from marine oil residues (slops). "The Port of Constanta is ideally located, and GSP is the ideal partner to collaborate with on the development of this significant project, given their wealth of industrial experience and in-depth knowledge of the region,” he added. Ecoslops has just signed a Letter of Intent with Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP)…

03 Nov 2014

Bosphorus Strait Traffic Suspended as Boat Sinks, At Least 24 Dead

Rescuers pulled 24 bodies from the sea at the mouth of Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Monday and rescued seven people after the sinking of a boat carrying migrants including children, the Turkish Coastguard Command said. Tens of thousands of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and beyond pack into often unsafe boats each year and thousands of them drown in their efforts to enter the European Union through coastal states. The boat, which capsized, was loaded with 42 Afghan illegal migrants, including 12 children and seven women, along with a Turkish captain, the Hurriyet news website reported. It was believed to have been heading for Bulgaria or Romania, but it was unclear where it set to sea.

19 Apr 2000

Japan To Fund Romanian Port Study

Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will finance a study to rehabilitate and upgrade the Black Sea port of Constanta, Transport Ministry officials said. The study will assess existing port facilities, predict harbor traffic patterns for the next 20 years, diagnose the port's IT system, and assess the impact of port activity on the environment. Constanta can handle around 85 million tons of goods per year, port officials said, adding that approximately 40 million tons were handled last year. Analysts believe Constanta could act as a hub for goods coming from North Africa, the Far East and the Middle East and consigned to central and eastern European markets.

23 Feb 2000

Navrom Vessels Sold At Auction

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, liquidator of Romanian state-run shipping company Navrom Constanta, said it sold six Navrom-owned cargo vessels at an auction in the Black Sea port of Constanta. A PricewaterhouseCoopers statement said the six ships, with capacities ranging from 2,800 dwt to 4,800 dwt had been sold "as are, where are" for a total of $1.44 million. Last year, a court in Constanta launched bankruptcy procedures against Navrom due to unpaid debts worth tens of millions of dollars. PricewaterhouseCoopers was appointed liquidator of company assets. Some 320 ships sailed under Navrom flag before the 1989 collapse of communism. In 1999, the company operated less then 20 ships.

09 Jun 2006

Port Accident in Romania Kills Five

According to reports, five people were killed when a floating crane crashed and hit a tugboat in Romania's Black Port of Constanta. An inspector in Constanta said police and port emergency experts were investigating the cause of the accident, Romania's NineO'Clock daily reported Friday. The accident, which occurred Thursday, was the biggest in the busy freight port of Constanta in two years. Source: UPI

14 Apr 2014

Romania: Another U.S. warship to come to Black Sea

Another U.S. warship will come to the Black Sea after destroyer USS Donald Cook will leave, Romanian president Traian Basescu told reporters in the Black Sea port of Constanta on Monday. Donald Cook arrived in the Black Sea last week for exercises and operations to improve interoperability, increase readiness and enhance relationships. A French vessel is also in Constanta to show support, Basescu said. Last month, a U.S. guided-missile destroyer conducted naval drills with Romania and Bulgaria in the Black Sea, in a show of Washington's military reach, in operations officials said were planned before Russia's annexation of Crimea. Reporting by Matthias Williams

15 Apr 2014

US Navy Ship Welcomes President of Romania

Sailors assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) salute Romanian President Traian Băsescu during his visit to the ship. (U.S. Navy photo by Edward Guttierrez III)

The forward deployed guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) welcomed aboard Romanian President Traian Bsescu while the ship was in port in Constanta, April 14. Bsescu was met by members of the U.S. Embassy and Donald Cook's Commanding Officer Cmdr. Scott Jones. He was then given a tour of the ship, including the Navigation Bridge, Combat Information Center and Engineering Control. "Operating in the Black Sea has been an incredible opportunity for us to further strengthen our ties and improve our interoperability with an important strategic partner…