According to the Ukrainian NGO International Centre for Policy Studies, the use of Romanian Sulina distributary costs Ukraine ₴0.7-1.2 million annually.

Initial dredging started in 2004 and the canal was declared open on May 10, 2007, for ships not exceeding 4.5 meters in draft.

According to the Ministerial order #132 of 24 May 2005 for navigation and hydrographic provision of Danube shipping safety is responsible the state company "Derzhhidrohrafiya".

The pilot project provides a traffic speed limit of ships along the sea access canal and Bystroe distributary 7 knots.

Ecologists, including the World Wildlife Fund, have raised significant concerns about damage to the Danube Delta ecosystem.

[7] In 2004 the European Commission issued a "Statement on Opening of Bystroye Canal in Ukraine" saying that "The European Commission deeply regrets the reported opening to navigation of the initial part of the Bystroye canal between the River Danube and the Black Sea.

"[8] The Ukrainian NGO International Centre for Policy Studies also protested the decision of the Ukrainian government, writing that "in its desire to get the canal as soon as possible, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine did not pay proper attention to considering all the alternatives, and approved an unjustified decision that violates Ukraine’s environmental interests and will heap greater expenditures upon the budget than those intended to be reduced by the building of the canal".

[2] After the apparent failure of diplomatic efforts, the government of Romania, where most of the Danube Delta lies, is reportedly considering building a 20 km canal that would absorb the Danube's water upstream of Ukraine's small piece of the river, in order to render the planned Bastroye Channel useless and thereby discourage Ukraine from attempting such a project.