The material - prepared in the framework of the EU Project "Assistance for Dnipro Transport Development" – is part of a series of discussions with transport and infrastructure stakeholders on the future of the inland waterway transport sector in Ukraine, in the current context. The discussions are being facilitated by Ramona Lupu, EU Communication Expert.

Dmytro Moskalenko, CEO Ukrainian Danube Shipping (UDP)

With about 30% of transport infrastructure in Ukraine being damaged or destroyed by the unjustified war caused by Russia, river and sea transport proved to be crucial in shipping grain and other key agricultural products worldwide.

Albeit the constant challenges posed by the war and a fleet with 50-60 years old pushers that call for renovation or modernization, Ukrainian Danube Shipping company is striving to succeed.

With a team of doers acting under the helm of Dmytro Moskalenko, UDP company seems to be on the right path even if there’re still troubled waters ahead.

Ramona Lupu: Mr. Moskalenko, how did Russia’s unprovoked war reverberate your company’s daily activities and what are the current challenges and most importantly your company’s essential needs due to optimize transportation in the current context.

Dmytro Moskalenko: Thank you very much for inviting me for this interview. When we started the new team arrived to the UDP, it was two days before the war started, we had a hypothesis that if the sea ports will be closed then the cargo will be redirected to the Danube region. And first thing we did – we did all the operations on the Middle and Upper Danube in order to return the fleets to the Danube region, plus we have repaired around 36 cargo barges, which were not in operation to maximize the shipping capacity, to cover the demand on the cargo. Later on, it became obvious that this hypothesis worked and we had as much capacity as the UDP could receive that time. This exact decision brought the company to the current financial stability and profitability. But the main challenge for us and it still remains that the fleet of UDP was for decades strongly underfunded and there is a huge infrastructural debt which has to be covered. Plus, the ecological requirements of the European Union that are coming in the nearest future could bring risk to the operational possibility of Ukrainian fleet, because of its age and that it doesn’t match for now the ecological standards of the European Union. So, the main thing we are working on now, except for the maximization of operation for grain export and other cargo export, is that we’re developing the programs of fleet renovation, because it needs to be done, there is no other way for Ukrainian fleet, it’s 50-60 years old pushers and they have to be fully modernized or renovated. We’re preparing the program of modernization, which is now passing through feasibility study and the business model calculations. When we are ready to show it to the Ministry, we’ll present it, then we’ll address the European financial institutions to probably get the long-term financing for this program.

Ramona Lupu: Can the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP), in its role of significant provider of transportation services contribute to closer economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU?

For more details about UDP’s current transportation operations and renovation needs, you can watch the rest of the interview here!

Follow facebook.com/dniprotransportdevelopment for more insights about the revival of inland waterway transport in Ukraine. 

The video material - prepared in the framework of the EU Project "Assistance for Dnipro Transport Development" – is part of a series of discussions with transport and infrastructure stakeholders on the future of the inland waterway transport sector in Ukraine, in the current context. The discussions are being facilitated by Ramona Lupu, EU Communication Expert.