Flood Wipes Away Chinese "Belt and Road" Border Port in Nepal

Published Aug 27, 2026 8:14 PM by The Maritime Executive

A flash flood initiated by a glacial collapse swept through mountain valleys on the Chinese-Nepalese border on Wednesday, erasing villages and leaving 1,400 people missing. Among the casualties was a key Chinese "Belt and Road" development project: a well-developed border crossing called Gyirong Port, which handled about $600 million in annual trade between Nepal and China. d

Videos from Gyirong show the force and inevitability of the powerful flash flood. Video taken from the Chinese side of the port shows locals running to escape about 30 seconds before a geyser of rock and mud envelops the border crossing, sweeping away buildings. Post-casualty satellite footage provided by Vantor shows an undeveloped landscape virtually free of roads, buildings or other signs of human habitation.

Gyirong Port was known to be vulnerable to flooding: it was closed for the second half of 2025 because of damage from last year's flooding on the Trishuli River, which took out the bridge at the border crossing.

This year's devastating flash flood followed the same path, but with far greater force. The 2025 flood was caused by the sudden overflow of a glacial lake upstream, in Tibet - a common and deadly hazard in Himalayan valleys, increasingly frequent because of glacial retreat, meltwater accumulation and thawing permafrost in the high mountains.

The 2026 flood was likely caused by the collapse of a glacier and a massive rock-ice avalanche on the north shoulder of Langtang Lirung, a mountain upstream on the Nepali side of the border. Post-accident imagery shows that the resulting flood of water and rock scoured the vegetation off the valley walls about 100 feet or more above the usual height of the riverbank.

Some of the debris from the mudflow has piled up into a natural dam a few miles upstream of the Gyirong border crossing, and is turning the location into a lake. That dam will continue to fill for days because of ongoing rainfall, according to Chinese authorities - and could burst and cause more flash flooding downstream.

Relief operations are under way to hunt for survivors and bring aid to villages that were cut off by the torrent of water, which wiped away the rudimentary roads that wind up the Trishuli River valley. The area is a popular tourism destination, and among the 1,400 missing are hundreds of foreign nationals, including 65 American citizens.

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Wheat Prices Soar as Russian and Ukrainian Grain Exports Plummet

Published Aug 27, 2026 6:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

Once again, shipping disruption from the conflict in the Black Sea is driving up wheat prices - and this time, both of the region's big grain exporters are suffering supply-chain hits.

Since the start of the month, wheat futures on the benchmark Chicago exchange have risen 18 percent, reaching the highest levels in three years. Like the last time that prices reached this level, the surge is linked to disruption in Black Sea shipping.

There is no sign that prices will turn around soon. Both Russia and Ukraine have been pounding each others' merchant shipping, damaging dozens of bulkers and effectively shutting down loading. On the Ukrainian side, about 70 ships are currently waiting off the entrance to the Sulina Canal, the transit route into the northernmost branch of the Danube river delta. The logistical difficulties have reduced Ukrainian grain exports by 80 percent in August, according to the country's agriculture ministry. The timing is unfortunate, as harvest season is under way.

On the Russian side, the impact is less clear. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters this week that "measures have been identified and will be further developed, ensuring that all grain intended for export is shipped on time and in full." But Russian media network Interfax reports that wheat exports are down 2.6-fold year-over-year, due in part to shipping disruption and in part to physical damage at Russian grain terminals. Trade journal World Grain reports that all three of the grain terminals at Novorossiysk have shut down due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

Elena Tyurina, head of the analytical department at the Russian Grain Union, told Interfax that at the current rate of decline, this season's Russian wheat exports could be the lowest in ten years - despite solid harvest numbers. Her colleague Arkady Zlochevskiy, the president of the Union, warned of catastrophic losses for Russian wheat farmers: grain with nowhere to go is getting sold for feed at a price about $45 a tonne below the cost of production.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/wheat-prices-soar-as-russian-and-ukrainian-grain-exports-plummet