COFCO International has launched its own river barge fleet in Romania, strengthening the company’s logistics network and improving connections between its origination and assets along the Danube and the Black Sea.

The new fleet, consisting of four push boats and 29 barges, links the company’s nine river and inland silos directly to its deep-sea port terminal in Constanta.

Each barge can carry over 1,000 metric tonnes of grains such as corn, wheat and barley, according to a statement released by COFCO.

“The barges connect the COFCO river silos to Constanta terminal, and they offer COFCO a more flexible transport of the goods,” said Irina Micu, barge fleet planner at COFCO International Romania.

COFCO International currently moves over 2 million tonnes of grain per year via barge from Central European origins to Constanta.

In recent years, the company’s barge usage on the Danube has tripled, driven by the efficiency of river transport compared with trucks and rail, as well as regional infrastructure challenges that favour waterborne logistics.