Charter a vessel from the Black Sea to Egypt.

How AI screens a Black Sea–Egypt wheat fixture

On this run most ships are handysizes already trading the Black Sea, and what separates two of them is usually the ballast, the laycan and what the terminals accept. CharterDeck's AI checks that before your broker calls an owner:

• Sizes the ship to the stem: a handysize for most wheat parcels, a supramax only where the quantity and both terminals justify one
• Measures each ship's ballast from where she opens to your load port, in Russia, Ukraine, Romania or Bulgaria
• Checks her draft against the load terminal and the Egyptian discharge terminal you nominate
• Tests whether she can make your laycan once the ballast is counted, and drops the ones that cannot
• Prices the voyage as well as the freight, including the EU ETS share when the ship loads in an EU port
• Ranks the shortlist with the reasons shown, so your broker starts with the ships worth calling

Cargoes moving from the Black Sea to Egypt

Egypt buys most of its imported wheat from the Black Sea because it is competitively priced and close, with lower freight and shorter voyages than other origins. Between July 2025 and January 2026 Egypt imported 8.8 million tonnes of wheat, of which Russia supplied 5.28 million and Ukraine 2.16 million, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The cargoes we see on the corridor:

• Milling wheat from Russian and Ukrainian ports, the bulk of the flow
• Wheat from Constanta, Varna and Burgas, a route with its own handysize freight benchmark since May 2026
• Corn for Egypt's feed industry: Ukraine has been one of Egypt's three largest corn suppliers over the past five seasons
• Cargoes for private importers as well as the state buyer: private companies brought in about 60 percent of the wheat between July 2025 and January 2026

Which ships fit a Black Sea–Egypt stem

In May 2026 Fastmarkets moved its Russia–Egypt wheat freight benchmark from a supramax to a handysize basis, because most Russian export volume moves on handy-sized ships. Supramaxes still come into play for larger stems. The terminals decide in the end:

What changes the voyage economics

• Where the ship opens: a handysize already in the Black Sea ballasts a short way, one coming up from the Mediterranean adds days and cost
• Which coast you load on: Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian and Bulgarian ports each have their own terminals, ships and practices
• EU load ports: a voyage from Constanta, Varna or Burgas to Egypt starts in the EU, so half its emissions fall under the EU ETS; from a Russian or Ukrainian port it does not
• War-risk insurance for Black Sea calls, and who pays any extra premium
• The Turkish Straits: every voyage out of the Black Sea transits them
• The stem and its stowage factor, which decide whether a handysize loads it all or a bigger ship pays
• Discharge rates, laytime and demurrage at the Egyptian terminal, which weigh more on a short voyage than a long one

What your broker does on a Black Sea–Egypt fixture

The AI shortlist is where the work starts; the fixture is broker work:

• Confirms with the owner that the ship fits the load terminal and the Egyptian discharge terminal
• Agrees war-risk cover and any extra premium for the Black Sea call before the ship is fixed
• Confirms the owner's trading limits and sanctions position for the load port and the cargo
• Works the owners of the open handysizes and supramaxes and negotiates freight, laytime and demurrage
• Follows the fixture through loading, the Straits and discharge: notices, laytime and demurrage

What we need from you

• Cargo and specification, e.g. milling wheat or feed corn
• Quantity and tolerance
• Load port or terminal in the Black Sea
• Discharge port in Egypt
• Laycan
• Load and discharge rates or terms
• Stowage factor, and any fumigation or inspection requirement