The Port of Giurgiulești ( ro, Portul Giurgiulești), officially the Giurgiulești International Free Port ( ro, Portul Internațional Liber Giurgiulești, link=no, PILG), is a port on the

Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

at its confluence with the

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

and the only

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

. It is Moldova's only port accessible to seagoing vessels, situated at km 133.8 (nautical mile 72.2) of the River Danube in the south of Moldova. It operates both a grain and an oil terminal as well as a passenger terminal. The building of an oil terminal started in 1996 and it was launched on 26 October 2006. Giurgiulești passenger port was officially opened on 17 March 2009, when the first sea passenger trip Giurgiulești-

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

-Giurgiulești was launched. The Grain Transhipment Terminal was opened on 24 July 2009. A container facility was added in 2012. As of 2015, a second grain terminal was under construction. The port has only on the shore of the river with room remaining for one additional terminal. Volume shipped through the port increased 65% in 2014. The port is managed by a Dutch firm, Danube Logistics, which, with the aid of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has invested $60 million in the project. There are 460 employees, half from the village of Giurgiulești, which is inland. As of 2015, there were no facilities in Giurgiulești which catered to travelers or visiting crewmen. It has a status of

free economic zone Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...

until 2030. The Port of Giurgiulești was built as result of a 2005 territorial exchange with

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, where

received a 430 meters (470 yard) bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and

rivers (which is an

international waterway The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...

).) Ukraine was supposed to receive a short section of road that leaves and re-enters Ukrainian territory near the Moldovan village of

Palanca Palanca may refer to: People * Bernard Palanca (born 1976), Filipino actor *Massimo Palanca (born 1953), Italian footballer * Mico Palanca (1978–2019), Filipino actor * Miguel Palanca (born 1987), Spanish footballer Places * Palanca, Huíla, ...

at the easternmost point of Moldova. After a long territorial dispute, it was decided that Moldova would keep the land but the road itself would be owned and maintained by Ukrainians. So now all vehicles have to go through the checkpoint while driving from Ukraine to Ukraine.

References

External links

Giurgiulești International Free Port homepage
Transport infrastructure in Moldova Giurgiulesti 2006 establishments in Moldova {{Moldova-stub