Romania's President Traian Basescu has made an appearance on US news channel CNN in a report on the Constanta Black Sea Port. The President's nautical background as an oil tanker captain is referred to and Basescu said his experience captaining the gigantic ships has given him the strength and resources to deal with his at times precarious role as president.

The report looks at current role of the port, the biggest on the Black Sea according to CNN, and asks about its future. A manager at the port told CNN reporter Becky Anderson that Constanta is the most competitive commercial harbor on the Black Sea. However, according to CNN, the port only operates at 50 percent capacity.

In the interview, Basescu described the port as a “ kind of gate, first of all for Romania, connecting Romania with the rest of the world” as well as being a gate for Central and Eastern Europe. When asked about the port's importance and future, Basescu was unequivocal. He underlined that the port is the single connection between Rotterdam and Germany via the Danube, which he described as a “blue motorway” that runs all the way to Constanta. He said the port is of “extraordinary importance” to both Romania and Europe as a whole and that its capacity to handle large ships needs to be developed. The CNN reporter said that the port could be “key to the country's [Romania's] future prospects.

There has been recent speculation over whether Basecu will try for the NATO Secretary General position after his presidential term, with rumors that a Polish or a Romanian candidate could take the position next year when the current Secretary General's mandate ends. Basescu's CNN appearance will doubtless raise his profile in the US and the interview was conducted with the NATO flag not-so-subtly draped alongside the Romanian and EU flags behind the President.

Watch the CNN report.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com