Black Sea exporters struggle to clear Danube shipping backlog

KYIV: Dozens of ships are backed up around critical Danube arteries close to Ukraine’s river gateways days after Russian drone attacks on the country’s ports, shipping data showed on Tuesday.

The river and its mouth are Ukraine’s last remaining waterborne grain export route.

Russia has attacked the agricultural and port infrastructure of Ukraine, one of the world’s top grain exporters, in recent weeks after refusing to extend a year-old safe passage grain corridor brokered by the United Nations and Turkey - effectively shutting Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.

These included the Danube ports of Izmail and Reni, shipping sources said.

At least 30 ships had dropped anchor around Musura Bay in the Black Sea, which leads into a channel that links up with Izmail further along the waterway, tracking data from analytics company MarineTraffic showed on Tuesday.