MYKOLAIV, DECEMBER, 17th, 2009, CONTEXT-PRICHERNOMORIE – Grain harvested in 2009 is being shipped through the Bystroye Channel, Context-Prichernomorie correspondent reports.

The agency was informed about it today 17 December at the press-service of GE Delta-Pilot.

According to their information, the vessels are charged in Ukrainian, Romanian and Moldovan ports. The grain was exported to Turkey, Greece, Syria, Tunis, and Egypt.

A modern grain terminal was opened in the Port of Giurgiuleşti in October.

The first vessel in Giurgiuleşti was loaded with wheat and left the port 14 October. M/V Richmond was carrying over 3 thousand tons of wheat. As of 14 December 7 vessels were loaded with wheat at the Giurgiuleşti Port. All of them used the Ukrainian navigation channel to proceed to the sea.

“Since the middle of October the navigations through the Bystroye Channel started”, Alexandr Golodnitskiy, GE Delta-Pilot’s director stated, “In spite of the Romanian party’s persistence, both the owners of cargoes and vessels prefer Ukrainian channel, taking into consideration the economic factor.”

According to the Giurgiuleşti authorities, in the near future Moldova intends to increase the amount of grain transshipments.

Stable export operations may also be observed in the other Danube ports. Thus Port point Kiliya, the port of Ust-Dunaisk, has been operation in grain terminal mode since August 2009.

“Since the grain loading operations started, our company has started working 24 hours a day. If there weren’t this channel there wouldn’t be any grain operations in our port, so we wouldn’t be working”, Vladimir Chernobykin, CEO of the Port of Kiliya said.

All in all in November, 14 vessels loaded with wheat, barley, rape, maize and sunflower seeds passed through the channel.