The vessel “Princess Elena” regularly sails along the Deepwater Navigation Course (DNC) Danube — Black Sea. The passenger ship operates charter flights on the route Giurgiulesti — Istanbul — Giurgiulesti. This is the only Moldovan regular line, and so far the first ship that constantly sails on the Ukrainian DNC.
According to the information of the agent — a representative of the company “Traderintrans”, the route by the Danube — the Black Sea was much more comfortable. The vessel can pass through the sea approach channel and the Bystroe distributary at any time of the day, while the entrance to the Romanian Sulina channel is closed after 2 pm.
The ship made its first voyage to Istanbul through the Sulina channel, but they chose the way back (March 23, 2009) through the Ukrainian passage with the Bystroe distributary. Pilots of the EMLS “Danube” are working on the pilotage of the vessel along the DNC. Senior pilot Yury Altaisky was the first to lead the Princess Elena from going to sea to the passenger terminal of Giurgiulesti on the Prut River.
The ship, which is almost 20 years old, has good handling, the crew is doing great. There are no problems with wiring. The ship’s draft is only 3.6 meters, and along the sea approach channel we navigate vessels with a draft of more than 5 meters, so there is room for maneuver, says Yuri Altaisky.
In addition, the DNC Danube — Black Sea is safer than the Sulina channel. The Ukrainian DNC runs along a natural channel. If the steering wheel suddenly fails, the maximum that can happen is that the ship will be washed ashore. On Sulina, such a situation will not do without a hole: the channel is narrow, its banks are concreted, the press service of Delta-Pilot reports.
Reference. The ship “Princess Elena” under the flag of Sierra Leone (port of registry Freetown) can accommodate 165 passengers and 500 tons of cargo. The ship runs on the route Giurgiulesti — Istanbul — Giurgiulesti weekly. The cruise is designed for 5 days: 32 hours of passage by sea and 2 days of parking in Istanbul.