BUCHAREST, August 4. /TASS/. Around 30 grain-loaded ships are waiting in Ukraine’s ports on the Danube river for Hungary’s permission to enter its territory, Reuters quoted a Hungarian river navigation official as saying on Thursday.
The Danube river is the only grain export waterway available to Ukraine at this point. Before Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative, Danube ports accounted for about a quarter of Ukraine’s total grain exports. Currently, the river and its mouth are packed with vessels trying to leave Ukraine.
"We are trying to handle these clusters as best we can, to relieve navigation congestion on the Danube," Florin Uzumtoma, the navigation director for Romania's Danube administration agency, has told Reuters. "We will clear around 30 ships in two days, at least 12 today, if not 14, and the rest tomorrow."
According to the official, his administration cleared a record-high number of vessels from Ukrainian ports - over 470 per month - in May and June.
Earlier, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu told Bloomberg that her country planned to promptly boost the Danube grain route’s capacity. To that end, Romania will open new border crossing points, increase staff at existing crossings and bring in retired and military pilots to speed up the transit of ships through the Danube canals.