Romania decided today, Thursday, that it will complete customs procedures for up to 30 ships awaiting entry into Romania from Ukrainian ports on the Danube River within two days, indicating that trade flows have not halted despite the Russian attack on the main Ukrainian port on the river. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis pointed out that "ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on the Danube reach the level of war crimes."
Passing through the river represents the last refuge for shipping Ukrainian grain exports via waterway after Russia re-imposed a de facto blockade on Ukrainian Black Sea ports and closed them last month. Nearly a quarter of Ukrainian grain exports passed through Danube ports before Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain export agreement. Grain shipments are transported on barges across the river to the Romanian port of Constanta on the Black Sea before continuing to their destinations.
Florin Ozootuma, the navigation director at the Romanian Danube administration, told Reuters: "We are trying to deal with these congestions as best as we can to alleviate traffic jams on the Danube." He added: "We will complete customs procedures for about 30 ships in two days, at least 12 today—if not 14—and the rest tomorrow." He noted that the administration had completed customs procedures for record numbers of ships coming from Ukrainian inland ports in May and June, with more than 477 ships processed in each month.
For its part, the Ukrainian prosecutor's office stated in a statement sent to Reuters that it is conducting an investigation into attacks targeting the Ukrainian agricultural sector as potential war crimes. Two sources from insurance companies indicated that drone attacks on the port of Ismail have already affected the willingness of at least two insurance companies to continue providing coverage for ships, adding that the two companies have decided to temporarily suspend coverage for shipments via the Danube. Sector sources told Reuters, "War risk coverage for Ukrainian ports that were part of the previous grain export agreement has already been suspended."
