Nibulon suffered losses of over $500 million

Nibulon also stated that the port facilities of Mykolaiv are ready to resume work as soon as a political decision is made.

This was discussed during a meeting between the French Ambassador to Ukraine Gael Vessier and the Director for Interaction with Authorities Mykhailo Rizak, the Nibulon press service reports.

According to Mykhailo Rizak, the company suffered losses of more than $500 million.

“The difficult situation arose due to the closure of the Mykolaiv seaport hub, the shutdown of the shipbuilding sector of the economy and the cessation of shipping on the E-40 river routes (Dnipro and Southern Bug) after the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation,” the director emphasized.

He also emphasized that the port facilities of Mykolaiv are ready to resume work as soon as a political decision is made to open them.

“This will increase the competition of transshipment and make export logistics cheaper. More than 100 vessels are still blocked in the Mykolaiv port hub, of which 30 are foreign sea and 70 are for inland waterways. The evacuated vessels, which were previously used for transportation, are currently idle and are looking for new water routes around the world, in particular on the Danube River,” said Rizak.

In particular, during the meeting, it was discussed that alternative export routes have been developed — this is an urgent need for food security in the world.

“Today, the Danube ports are strategic for the economic security of Ukraine, and we must do everything possible to maintain their competitiveness,” said Mykhailo Rizak.

Special attention was paid during the conversation to the tariff policy of Ukrzaliznytsia.

Representatives of Nibulon emphasized that with the opening of the deep-water ports of Odessa, transportation costs through the Danube ports have become at least $5 per ton more expensive, and taking into account the announced tariff indexation, the difference may be up to $7.

Mykhailo Rizak called for considering the possibility of indexing railway transportation without applying it to routes to/from railway stations near the Danube ports.

“This will allow equalizing the competition of the Danube with deep-water seaports and will stimulate the further development of the Danube infrastructure, which received support from the USAID Economic Support to Ukraine project and other international donor programs,” he added.

In this way, according to him, Ukraine will ensure sustainable exports without losing money in the event of an aggravation of the security situation on the Black Sea, and international partners will see the real implementation of the European Commission’s decision on the development of solidarity routes.

Read also: Nibulon has fully repaid investments in the terminal on the Danube.