Ships are waiting to access exit routes through the Sulina and Bystre estuary channels to reach a number of ports and terminals in Romania from where the grain can be shipped around the world, amid growing global concern over Russian blockade on Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea. Marine monitoring services showed a flurry of ships waiting to cross the Danube as a second route opened up through the Bystre estuary following the recent Russian retreat from nearby Snake Island. Previously, ships could only cross the Danube through the Sulina Canal, which is a one-way crossing, with cargo ships waiting weeks to get through. Although large carriers cannot pass through the Bystre estuary, limiting the amount of grain that can be exported, Ukrainian officials said 16 ships had already passed through the Bystre route in the four days since it reopened. With mined harbors and a Russian blockade on Ukraine’s southern coast restricting sea traffic, the northern branch of the Danube Delta, which follows Ukraine’s southern border, and small riverside ports have gained global importance amid warnings of famine in parts of Africa , as Ukraine’s grain has been withheld from the international market and prices have soared. Map Until recently, the Bystre estuary route was closed, but this changed with the withdrawal of Russian forces from Snake Island. “Given the release of Zmiinyi [Snake] The island from the Russian troops and the accumulation of a large number of ships waiting to proceed through the Sulina channel, it is possible to use the Bystry estuary channel of the Danube River-Black Sea for the entry/exit of ships carrying agricultural products, “he said the Ukrainian Sea Ports Administration in a statement over the weekend. Ukrainian officials hope the new grain export route will allow an additional 500,000 tonnes to be exported, although it will be far less than the amount of grain exported before the Russian invasion. The capacity of the new routes is “currently insufficient to fully replace the ports,” Ukrainian officials noted. Ukraine exported about 2.5 million metric tons of goods in June, far less than the 8 million metric tons it had hoped to export, the infrastructure ministry said. Ukraine is the world’s leading exporter of wheat, accounting for 9% of the global market. It also accounts for 42% of the sunflower oil market and 16% of global corn production. Due to Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports and an abundance of mines along the coast, 20 to 25 million tons of wheat are stuck in Ukraine, pushing up global grain prices. Russia and Ukraine met on Wednesday with UN officials and the Turks in an attempt to break a months-long impasse over grain exports. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows no signs of abating, and the sides remain locked in a frenzied long-range shooting battle that is destroying cities and leaving people with nothing. The Istanbul talks – the first face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since March 29 – have been complicated by growing suspicions that Russia is trying to export grain it has stolen from Ukrainian farmers in areas under its control. US space agency data released last week showed that 22 percent of Ukraine’s agricultural land had fallen under Russian control since the invasion began on February 24. The two sides said they had made progress but were sticking to firm demands that could derail the talks. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv was “two steps away from an agreement with Russia”. “We are in the final stages and everything now depends on Russia,” he told Spanish newspaper El País. Russia said its demands included the right to “search ships to prevent arms smuggling” – a demand rejected by Kyiv. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday sought to downplay expectations of an imminent breakthrough. “We’re really working hard, but there’s still a way to go,” he said.
