Most of the vessels in the fleet of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) are currently transporting grain cargoes on the Lower Danube. The vessels are loaded at a draft of 1.8 -1.9 meters because of the low water levels in the river Danube.
The UDP’s head Dmytro Moskalenko announced this, the CFTS portal reports.
He noted that navigation on River Danube has been suspended since July because of significant shoaling.
"The water levels rose slightly at the beginning of August and the third ten-day period of the month, which improved the situation a little. The second rise in the water levels was more significant at about 70 centimeters, but this wave is now passing and a drop in the water levels from the second ten-day period of September is predicted. Currently, the lowest depth of 230 centimeters is being observed in the Bulgarian rapids," Moskalenko said.
Because of this, the UDP was forced to reduce the average load on its vessels to a record level and change logistics routes in August. Now, the caravans are loaded in Izmail at the minimum draft of 1.80 - 1.90 meters and they travel up the Danube no further than the Bulgarian ports of Ruse and Svishtov. The vessels are unloaded mostly in the Romanian ports of Braila and Galati.
Currently, 14 UDP caravans are operating on the River Danube.
As reported earlier, the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company is considering opportunities for cooperation with the largest logistics operators on the river Danube. The goal of such cooperation is the development of complex logistics solutions that will make it possible to compensate for the shortcomings of all the existing logistics routes.
