Russian shallow water Azov Sea ports have been disrupted by severe weather conditions, which have also added to delays from Ukraine’s small water ports in the south of the country, sources told AgriCensus.
The situation could further impact grain and oilseed supplies from the Black Sea region, the 6 December report said.
Severe weather had hit shallow water ports in Russia and Ukraine, halting operations completely in Azov, the report said, with reported delays in Ukrainian small water ports increasing congestion in the Sulina canal - the link connecting the Black Sea with the River Danube.
Although Russian ports had faced bad weather for several weeks, winds around the ports on the River Don had been so strong at the time of the report that they had blown water out of the river ports, halting loading or discharging operations, AgriCensus wrote.
“It's all paralysed for now, and there's no real reason to quote rates, or prices,” a freight broker was quoted as saying.
According to one trader, one ship had only been half loaded and had been waiting a week to complete, while newly arrived vessels were also being forced to wait.
Restrictions were not limited to the shallow water ports of Azov or the Danube, with deep Black Sea Russian ports such as Taman and Kavkaz also reporting some delays caused by severe weather, according to the report.
At the time of the report, trade sources were hoping that the weather would improve in the short term, or that water levels would improve in key Azov ports to make loading possible.
Ukrainian small water ports had also faced challenges due to severe weather conditions, with loading operations delayed amid rain, the report said.
The flow of vessels in the Sulina canal was also reportedly affected, with queues increasing to more than 100 ships and forcing an increase in the delay time of up to two weeks, according to trade sources.
