Up to 70 vessels are waiting near the Danube’s Sulina Canal for access to Ukrainian ports, where they are due to load grain for export. A shortage of pilots, priority for fuel and other cargoes, poor weather and frequent air raid alerts are causing long delays. Russia’s attacks have effectively blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, which previously handled 90% of the country’s grain exports, forcing shipments through lower-capacity Danube ports. Consultancy ASAP Agri said more than 50 vessels were waiting to pass through the Sulina Channel as of August 25, while only five to seven vessels per day were moving toward Ukraine’s Danube ports. Each day of delay can cost up to $8,000, adding to high freight rates, and the consultancy warned that conditions could worsen if the weather deteriorates. Avalon shipping operations manager Katerina Kononenko said the canal was expected to close for about two days because of poor weather and that real traffic capacity for vessels bound for Ukrainian ports was only two to three vessels per day. Ukraine had also relied heavily on Danube ports earlier in the war after Russia blocked the ports of the Greater Odesa region. Danube grain export capacity peaked at 2.5 million metric tons a month in 2022 to 2023, but volumes remain well below that level. State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia said grain transport volumes to Danube ports in August were 11 times higher than in July. Agriculture ministry data showed Ukraine exported 539,000 tons of grain from August 1 to August 21, compared with 1.73 million tons in the same period a year earlier. Disruptions from one of the world’s biggest grain exporters can push global prices higher.