Black Sea to Egypt Wheat Shipping: Ports, Ships and Timing
Egypt is one of the largest wheat importers in the world, and the Black Sea is its closest large source. The voyage is short, the volume is large and the schedule follows the harvest.
Loading ports
Wheat for Egypt is loaded in Russia (Novorossiysk, Taman and other Black Sea ports), in Ukraine, in Romania (Constanta) and in Bulgaria. Each port has its own berths, draft limits and loading rates, and the rules of ports and of the sea in the region can change, so a charterer should check the position before it agrees a ship.
Discharging ports in Egypt
The main wheat ports are Alexandria and other ports on the Mediterranean coast, Damietta and, for some cargoes, ports on the Red Sea side. Discharging rates, berth waiting time and the equipment of each port differ and decide how many days a ship stays, which matters for the laytime terms.
The Turkish Straits
Every ship that leaves the Black Sea passes the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The transit has rules for ship size, draft and daylight, and the waiting time changes with traffic and weather. A schedule should allow some days for it, and the charter party should say who carries the risk of delay in the straits.
Ships used
Supramax and Panamax ships carry most of the wheat on this route, and Handysize ships take smaller cargoes. The ship needs clean, dry holds that pass the grain inspection at loading. The size is limited by the draft at the loading and discharging ports.
Season and buying patterns
The new wheat crop is harvested in summer and most cargoes ship from July through the following months. Egypt buys through state purchasing bodies and traders, often in tenders that set a shipment window, so the dates in a charter request are usually fixed by the sale contract. Plan the laycan from that window.
What to write in your request
The wheat and the quantity with a tolerance, the loading port or the range of ports, the discharging port in Egypt, the laycan, the loading and discharging rates, and the terms for demurrage. Add the delivery term of your sale; see FOB, CFR and CIF. For the whole region see Black Sea grain shipping.
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