Romania has today received the agreement of the Ukrainian authorities to measure the depth of the Bystroye channel, according to Digi24 sources.
The Romanian and Ukrainian authorities had agreed that the Romanian experts would start on March 15 the measurements on the Chilia arm and on the Bystroye canal, but the checks started on March 17 only on Chilia, in the absence of the written agreement of the Ukrainians.
According to the quoted sources, the Ukrainian side agreed to make measurements on 65 km in total, we are talking about the Bystroye Canal, the rest of the section on the Chilia arm, because initially Romania received agreement to make measurements on only 94 km on the Chilia arm.
At the same time, measurements will be made on the channels that deviate from the Chilia arm on the Ukrainian side. This time only Ukrainian ships will be used, so the Ukrainian side has imposed its own rules. Both Ukrainian and Romanian experts will be on board the ships. Tomorrow the measurements will be finished on the 94 km on the Chilia arm for which we received initial approval, and also tomorrow, in parallel, the measurements on the 65 km that also include the Bystroye Canal will begin. Interpretation of the results will take up to four weeks. Romania expressed its agreement that the Ukrainian side should also participate in the interpretation of the results.
According to the partial agreement given by Ukraine, the measurements on the Chilia arm (the Ukrainian side) – which are made with three ships of the “Lower Danube” Galati River Administration – take place only during the day and cover the sector between km 22 and km 116 on this arm of the Danube.