The maritime hub and the blue economy: how do they see the strategy of recovery of Mykolaiv in the EU

International partners, including the European Union, Denmark and the United Nations, supported the strategy of restoring Mykolaiv as a maritime hub and a center of the blue economy.

Artem Vashchylenko, the head of the All-Ukrainian NGO “Ukrainian Association of Business Support Centers”, told about this on the air of Public Radio, Intent writes.

According to him, the blue economy concept includes such areas as shipbuilding and repair, aquaculture, fishing, coastal and maritime tourism, marine biotechnology and offshore energy.

“It is important for Ukraine to use the approaches adopted by our partners. For Mykolaiv, a city with centuries-old maritime traditions, this is the standard way. We have defined a strategy to restore the city as a center of the blue economy,” emphasized Artem Vashchylenko.

According to the concept, technologies in shipbuilding and ship repair should comply with the principles of environmental sustainability, which leads to a reduction in the impact on the environment and a reduction in emissions. The restoration of the shipbuilding industry in Ukraine can contribute to the development of the latest technologies of the blue economy and the development of cooperation with Western companies that already support these standards.

Artem Vashchylenko also added that an important component of the blue economy are engineering companies and design bureaus that are integrated into global value added chains.

“Ukrainian engineers work remotely on shipbuilding projects around the world, staying in Mykolaiv and paying taxes in Ukraine. This is also an important signal about human potential, the availability of knowledge and competences that are in demand on world markets. The development of Mykolayiv restoration projects is carried out with the support of the European Union, the Kingdom of Denmark and the UN Development Program in Ukraine,” he said.

According to Artem Vashchylenko, in Soviet times, large shipbuilding enterprises met the needs of the fleet, but now there are no such requirements in Ukraine. Today, defense strategy has changed, and even small naval drones can destroy large ships, so the need to build a massive fleet has disappeared.

There are similar development trends in Europe, where now only large cruise ships and some warships are built, and mass commercial shipbuilding has been transferred to Asia. At the same time, the ship repair industry in Mykolaiv remains active and has prospects for development.

The head of the VGO noted that Mykolaiv has opportunities for ship repair and small-scale shipbuilding. This can be a fleet serving ports, security destinations, as well as yachts, boats and river trams. The organization of regular passenger transport by water transport is also part of the city’s regeneration strategy.

We will remind you that last year the Ambassador of Denmark said that Mykolaiv shipyards can compete with world shipyards.