LaycanDeskDanube and Black Sea coaster freight - Izmail, Reni, Galati and Constanta to the Marmara, East Med and Adriatic
Grains, rapeseed, sunflower seed and steel on 3,000 to 12,000 dwt coasters and river-sea ships, any quantity on the draft of the day. Izmail, Reni, Galati, Constanta and Poti to the Marmara, the Turkish Black Sea coast, Greece, Italy and the Adriatic: wheat, corn, rapeseed, sunflower seed and steel on coasters and river-sea ships of 3,000 to 12,000 dwt, fixed within days on the ship's draft and the Sulina queue.
The Danube grain trade runs on ships built for the river. Izmail and Reni on the Ukrainian bank and Galati on the Romanian side load wheat, corn, barley, rapeseed and sunflower seed onto river-sea ships of 3,000 to 8,000 dwt drawing 4 to 6.5 metres, and the loadable quantity is whatever the ship can lift at the draft available that week, which is why every Danube stem reads any quantity on draft. Corn stems in September 2026 were written at 5.5 to 6.5 metres. Ships enter and leave through the Sulina Canal, where waiting time extends the voyage and the port authority's cargo-handling confirmation date sets the queue position; that waiting does not by itself trigger demurrage, and the charter party has to say so. Constanta and Poti load the larger parcels, up to 12,000 tonnes of grain or steel coils, for the Marmara, Greece, Italy and the Adriatic. The whole passage is three to eight days, and the trade is spot: a ship open in the right place this week is fixed this week.
The desk keeps coaster and river-sea positions in the Black Sea, the Marmara and the Med on the board and goes to owners with the load port and its permissible draft, the cargo, the quantity or the draft basis, the discharge rotation, the laycan, the commission and the charterer's name; a Danube stem also needs the confirmation date at the load port so the owner can judge the queue. Owners send name, IMO number, deadweight, draft, gear, open port and date, and the desk answers a stem with the ship's draft, position and open date rather than a general level. The 13 September sweep sighted 57 hulls at Izmail and 47 at Poti; supply of ships willing to call the Ukrainian Danube ports remains limited, so owners with tonnage opening in the Marmara or the Turkish Black Sea are the positions most often needed. Every counterparty is screened before an offer, and the desk does not work cargo or tonnage from any sanctioned origin. We work by email and reply to coaster stems the same day.
Load ports
- Izmail and Reni (Ukrainian Danube, 4–6.5 m, via Sulina)
- Galati and Giurgiulesti (Danube, river-sea)
- Constanta (up to 12,000 t parcels, steel and grain)
- Poti (Georgia, steel, grain, minor bulks)
Discharge ports
- Marmara and Turkish Black Sea (Samsun, Bandirma, Izmit)
- Greece east coast and Izmir
- Italy, Spain Med and the Adriatic
- Egypt Med and Iskenderun on the larger stems
Typical parcels
- Wheat and corn 3,000–8,000 t, any quantity on draft
- Rapeseed and sunflower seed 3,000–6,000 t
- Steel coils, rebar and pipe 3,000–12,000 t
- Grain ex Constanta up to 12,000 t
Ships that carry it
The cargo itself, on Commbril
Questions charterers and owners ask
What does any quantity on draft mean?
The Danube's depth changes with the season, so the loadable quantity is whatever the ship can lift at the draft available that week. The charterer states the maximum draft, typically 5.5 to 6.5 metres at Izmail and Reni, and the ship declares the tonnage. The enquiry therefore needs the ship's draft more than her deadweight.
How does the Sulina Canal affect the voyage?
Every ship in and out of Izmail and Reni passes Sulina, and waiting there extends the voyage by days. The port authority's cargo-handling confirmation date sets the queue position, and canal waiting does not automatically count as demurrage; the charter party has to deal with it. We ask for the confirmation date with the stem.
What sizes work on this lane?
River-sea ships of 3,000 to 8,000 dwt on the Danube, and coasters and small bulkers up to about 12,000 dwt out of Constanta and Poti. Anything larger loads at the deep-water Black Sea ports and is a Handysize stem rather than a coaster one.
How fast do these fixtures close?
Days, often less. Coaster charterers work spot, and a ship opening in the Marmara or the Turkish Black Sea this week gets fixed this week. Send the load port, draft, cargo, discharge rotation, laycan, commission and charterer's name, and we answer the same day with ships that are actually open.