Port Overview

The Giurgiulesti International Free Port (GIFP) is situated at 133.8 km / 72.2 nautical miles from the Black Sea on the maritime section of the river Danube. The port is capable of receiving both inland and sea-going vessels. The port counts with four terminals specialized in handling grain, oil and liquid cargo, and containers (including reefers). As such, the main activities at the port are the export of grain and import of fuel products.

The port is the only direct sea/river-borne transhipment and distribution point to and from the Republic of Moldova. Although the Giurgiulesti International Free Port (GIFP) is relatively small in comparison to other European ports, it is Moldova’s only access to the sea and enjoys a strategic location bordering Ukraine and the EU with Romania. Due to its easy access to the Black Sea with maritime vessels, to countries located along the Danube with river barges as well as inland rail connections to both the CIS and EU countries. The Port has the status of free economic zone until 2030.
 

Key port information may also be found at: Giurgiulesti International Free Port (gifp.md)

 

Port Location and Contact
Country	Moldova
Province or District	Giurgiulesti, Cahul District
Nearest Town or City with Distance from Port	Giurgiulesti 4.5 km
Port's Complete Name	Giurgiulesti International Free Port
Latitude	45.47066 N
Longitude	28.210504 E
Managing Company or Port Authority	Danube Logistics SRL
Management Contact Person	General Director Mathias von Tucher +373 79 887171
Nearest Airport and Airlines with Frequent International Arrivals/Departures	Chişinău International

Port Picture

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

The following companies are involved in the operation of the different terminals:
 

• ICS Danube Logistics SRL: Is the main operator of the port. It specifically operates the Oil, Liquid Bulk, Containerized & General Cargo, and Mixed-Gauge Rail terminals
  (Tel: + 373 22 999 225 / Fax +373 22 999 226 / email: info@danlog.md)

 

• Trans Oil Group of Companies: Is one of the major operators in the port. It operates different terminals through its various subsidiaries:

 

• • SC Trans Cargo Terminal SRL:  Is the operator for both grain terminals at the port: Trans Cargo Grain Terminal — Prut, and Trans Cargo Grain Terminal — Danube.
    (Tel: (+373 22) 229 991 / 223 174 / Fax: (+373 22) 295 420 / 592 393 / Email: execution@transoilcorp.com)
  • SC Trans Bulk Logistics SRL: is responsible for operating the Vegetable Oil terminal (Tel: +373 (22) 889300 / Tel: +373 (22) 889301 / office@transoilcorp.com)

 

For more information on port contacts, please see the following link:  4.4 Port and Waterways Companies Contact List

Port Performance

Vessels of up to 7 meters of draft and a deadweight of 500 to 9000 tons can operate in this port. During the months of August to November, the port section on the Prut River decreases its flow to approximately 5 meters.

Seasonal Constraints

	Occurs	Time Frame
Rainy Season	No	NA
Major Import Campaigns	No	NA
Other Comments	The Prut River flow decreases during August to November. Major grain export campaigns take place from July to December when the port sees increased levels of activity.

 

Handling Figures for 2023
Vessel Calls	807
Container Traffic (TEUs)	8648

 

Handling Figures Bulk and Break Bulk for 2023
Bulk (mt)	2,065,365 (incl. liquid)
Break bulk (mt)	100,787

Discharge Rates and Terminal Handling Charges

For information on port rates and charges, please see the following link: Giurgiulesti International Free Port (gifp.md)

Berthing Specifications

Type of Berth	Quantity	Length (m)	Maximum Draft (m)	Comments
Conventional Berth	1	160	5/7 m	Low/high water season
Container Berth	1	160	5/7 m
Dry Bulk Berth	2	NA	NA	2-grain jetties connected to grain silos,
Liquid Bulk	1	NA	NA	1 oil jetty connected to tank farms for liquid bulk
Berthing Tugs	1
Water Barges	NA	NA	NA

For additional information on port procedures consult Giurgiulesti International Free Port (gifp.md)

General Cargo Handling Berths

Cargo Type	Berth Identification
Imports - Bagged Cargo	Grain Terminals
Exports - Bagged Cargo	Grain Terminals
Imports and Exports - RoRo	NA
Other Imports	Oil and Liquid bulk terminals to be used for vegetable oil and fuel

Port Handling Equipment

Equipment	Available	Total Quantity and Capacity Available	Comments on Current Condition and Actual Usage
Dockside Crane	NA	NA
Container Gantries	NA	NA
Mobile Cranes	Yes	1	Sennebogen 6130 HCC, max. lifting capacity: 70 tons (single use) Type: Sennebogen 6130 HCC
Material Handler	Yes	2	Types: Fuchs MHL 360 E, Fuchs MHL 365 E
Container Handling	Yes	2	Type: Kalmar reachstacker, 45 tons, Krone reach stacker 45 to
Bunker for Grain	Yes	1
Forklifts	Yes	3	1 x CAT 6 to, 2 small (Toyota, Yale)
Reachstacker	Yes	2	See container handling
RoRo Tugmaster (with Trailer)	NA	NA
Grain Elevator with Bagging Machines	NA	NA
Transtainer	NA	NA
Other	Yes	2	Skid steer loaders

Container Facilities

This terminal is used for transshipment of a broad range of dry bulk cargo, general cargo and containers. The terminal has an open storage area of about 1 ha which includes a broad-gauge railway line allowing for direct transshipment of cargo between vessel and railway wagons. 

 

Facilities	20 ft	40 ft
Container Facilities Available	Yes	Yes
Container Freight Station (CFS)	Yes	Yes
Refrigerated Container Stations	Yes	Yes
Other Capacity Details	NA	NA
Daily Take Off Capacity (Containers per Day)	Vessels: 300 ctr/d (operational capacity up to 20 ctr/h) Rail: 1 block train per day (96 empties or 64 full; operational capacity much higher but bottleneck is the line capacity of railway station)
Number of Reefer Stations (Connection Points)	48 plug-in points for reefer containers
Emergency Take-off Capacity	20 ctr/h from vessel
Off take Capacity of Gang Shift (Containers per Shift)	11 x 20 ctr/h = 220 ctr/shift (without vessel formalities)

Customs Guidance

The operation of customs controls at Giurgiulești port is notably different from the customs controls applied at other BCPs. This is because the traffic is largely predictable and advance notification is almost always received. Danube Logistics provides the Moldovan Customs Service with preliminary information on arrivals as soon as the vessels are loaded in Constanța. This information includes a description of the goods and their volume/quality and details of the exporter and importer together with the container and seal numbers.

On receipt of this information, generally 24 hours before the arrival of the vessel, MCS therefore has the opportunity to undertake additional checks and establish the risks involved. In addition, MCS should usually receive the cargo manifest from the vessels approximately 2 hours before the vessel is due to dock, which enables the Risk Analysis Unit (RAU) at Cahul Custom House and Risk Analysis Dept. in Chisinau.

Based on risk analysis MDCS undertakes joint control of the vessel including ship rummage together with MDBP. Physical control of vessels entering GIFP is then undertaken jointly with the Moldovan border police and, if required, by ANSA. Documents are completed concerning the vessel’s arrival and details are recorded in the register of “Entrance/Exit of Ships”. Following satisfactory performance of the ‘‘on-board Commission’s’” activities, the Master is granted permission to discharge the cargo.

For additional information about customs processes at the port, please refer to Guirguleshti_ENGL_final_.indd (eubam.org)

CLEARING AGENTS

Company Name	What categories do they treat (food, fuel, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, or all-rounders)?	Bonded/Non-bonded warehouse Capacity	Temperature controlled /Non temperature controlled
Azurtranslogistic SRL	All-rounders	No	No
Transline Exim SRL	All-rounders	No	No
Broker Logistic SRL	All-rounders	No	No
Dectrans Broker SRL	All-rounders	No	No
Transimex SRL	All-rounders	No	No
Eximservice Broker SRL	All-rounders	No	No

Terminal Information

Multipurpose Terminal

Danube Logistics is the operator of the Container and General Cargo Terminal (CGCT). This terminal is used for transshipment of a broad range of dry bulk cargo, general cargo and containers. The loading rates for grain with the mobile conveyor belt reach up to 300 t/h while the mobile port crane using a bunker can add up 140 t/h.

Adjacent to the General Cargo & Container Terminal is located a RoRo ramp with an unfinished surface. If required the RoRo ramp can be completed on short notice. Currently the RoRo ramp is used for unloading of dry bulk cargo from river barges directly onto trucks and railway wagons.

Grain And Bulk Handling

 Trans Cargo Grain Terminal — Prut: The loading facility with a fixed conveyor belt connected to the main storage facility is erected on a jetty construction permitting calls of maritime vessels with a draft between 4.5 and 7 m depending on the water level as well as of river barges. The main grain storage facility has a capacity of 70,000 mt and can receive up to 3,000 mt of grain per day by railway or road transportation. At the same time vessels with a size of up to 7,000 mt can be loaded with a nominal loading speed of up to 300 metric tons per hour.

Trans-Oil Grain Terminal — Danube: The terminal has a grain berth suitable for mooring maritime vessels with a whole year available draft of 7 m and river barges. The terminal is equipped with a radial conveyor belt loading system with a nominal loading rate of 800 t/h. The terminal has a storage capacity of 10,000 tons which is connected to the main storage facility via a pneumatic pipeline.

Oil Terminal: The total storage capacity of the oil tank farm is 63,600 cbm distributed over eight tanks with capacities ranging from 4,200 to 12,600 cbm. Four of the eight tanks have been equipped with floating roofs for the storage of gasoline and other light products. Currently five tanks are used for the storage of diesel and three tanks are used for the storage of gasoline.

In addition, one of the port tenants operates a tank storage facility with a volume of 3,000 cbm built from stainless steel allowing for transshipment of ethanol, wine and liquid fertilizer.

Vegetable Oil Terminal: initially, the terminal had a storage capacity of 6,000 mt, but the capacity has been extended to about 15,000 mt in course of the construction of the sunflower oil crushing plant by Danube Oil Company within the port. Vegetable oil tankers belong to the largest vessels calling at the port with a size of up to 10,000 dwt.

Lastly, Danube Logistics is in the process of building a bitumen storage facility.

MAIN STORAGE TERMINAL

BONDED STORAGE (STORAGE AVAILABLE BEFORE CUSTOMS)

Storage condition	Number of Storage Facilities	Total Area (m²)	Total volume (m³)	Handling requirement
Open air	4	30,000		Port crane, material handler, fork lifts
General cargo (indoor)	DL: 0; other GIFP tenants might accept general cargo upon request	> 40,000
Bagged Cargo	4 (open air for big bags, see above)
Temperature controlled (15 to 25 °C)	No (planned)
Keep Cool (2 to 8 °C)	No (planned)
Freezing Temp (minus 25 to minus 15°C)	No (eventually planned)
Ultra cold-chain temp (minus 80 to minus 60°C)	No
Narcotics Cage	No

 Stevedoring

Stevedoring activities are provided by the terminal operators:

• • ICS Danube Logistics SRL Oil, Containerized & General Cargo, Bulk, Ro-Ro, and Mixed-Gauge Rail terminals
  • SC Trans Cargo Terminal SRL:  both grain terminals at the port
  • SC Trans Bulk Logistics SRL: Vegetable Oil terminal

Hinterland Information

The port area is connected with a broad-gauge railway connection from the Giurgiulesti state railway station as follows:

1. To the General Cargo & Container Terminal
2. To the Trans Cargo Danube Grain Terminal
3. To the Liquid Bulk Railway Terminal
4. To the mixed-gauge General Cargo Storage & Container Yard area.

The state railway station of Giurgiulesti has three broad-gauge railway connections:

1. To Chisinau, the rest of Moldova and to Ukraine via Cahul (This line is currently interrupted due to a landslide in the village of Valeni. The completion of repair works is planned for the beginning of 2025)
2. To Chisinau, the rest of Moldova and to Ukraine via Reni and the Ukrainian sector via Etulia.
3. To Galati on the mixed-gauge line.

Additionally, the port area is connected with a standard-gauge railway connection from the Giurgiulesti state railway station as follows:

1. To the Liquid Bulk Railway Terminal
2. To the mixed-gauge General Cargo Storage & Container Yard area.

The state railway station of Giurgiulești has one standard-gauge railway line to Galati in Romania via the mixed-gauge line.

Further, the port can be accessed from the port of Constanta on two routes: on the Maritime route via Sulina channel and on the inland route via the Cernavoda channel.

Regarding road transport into Moldova, the M3 road connection between Giurgiulești and Chisinau has been almost completed. It is planned to complete the construction of the last section, the Slobozia Mare bypass, by end of 2024. This will shorten the distance to about 215 km.

At the moment of this assessment, the main mode of transport from the port is by trucks. The reason behind it is the conflict in Ukraine for the hinternalnd to Ukraine, and landslides in neighboring village of Valeni.

 

Port Security

Although no security incidents have been reported at the moment of this assessment, the security level is Heightened due to the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine and the port’s location in the proximity to the border. The Moldovan Border Police is present at the port to conduct inspections to provide

 

Security
ISPS Compliant	Yes
Current ISPS Level (Level 1 = Normal, Level 2 = Heightened, Level 3 = Exceptional)	2
Police Boats	Yes, a small one (100 hp, 5 seats incl. driver)
Fire Engines	Yes: 2 x firefighting stations in port; Giurgiulesti village has a firefighting station with several vehicles Firefighting boat (naval agency)