Freight rates from Danube ports to Egypt increase by $10/t over the week

The situation in the Danube freight market continues to deteriorate. Periodic closures of the Sulina Channel due to bad weather are contributing to a further accumulation of vessels in queues and increasing waiting times for passage. Combined with ongoing attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea, this is increasingly complicating grain exports from Ukrainian Danube ports, according to the UZA press service, citing ASAP Agri data.

The supply of vessels willing to undertake such voyages has dropped to a minimum, and shipowners remaining on this route are voicing even higher freight ideas. As a result, the gap between charterers' and shipowners' freight ideas continues to widen, holding back the conclusion of new fixtures. Amid extremely low fixture activity, determining current market freight levels remains difficult.

Market participants are quoting a wide range of rates, with the final rate depending on the vessel's location and channel transit conditions. In the barge segment, the situation also remains tense. Restrictions on draft limits on the Danube reduce the actual carrying capacity of barges, maintaining a significant deficit in available tonnage.

Consequently, the Atria Brokers freight department provides indicative freight rates for coaster-type vessels, factoring in passage through the Sulina Channel and approximately 5 days of free waiting time. According to Atria Brokers estimates, the cost of transporting 6,000 tons of corn from Ukrainian Danube ports to Egypt is approximately 110 USD/t, up 10 USD/t over the week.

Notably, new procedures are currently being prepared at Sulina to speed up vessel transit, which could potentially ease logistics constraints in the future. However, current challenges continue to put heavy pressure on agricultural exports from the Danube region.