Since the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company has put into operation 23 barges, and another 13 vessels are acting on the line. It was said by the director-General of PrJSC Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company Dmitry Moskalenko.
According to the official, with the support of the Ministry of Infrastructure, the shipping company urgently put into operation and put under the Ukrainian flag 23 barges that were laid up without documents. Papers for another 13 courts are in the process of registration.
Due to the blockade of Ukrainian seaports, the demand for transportation exceeded supply, so freight rates began to grow rapidly. Also, the cost of river transport was significantly affected by the shortage and cost of fuel.
“The Danube cluster today faced an unprecedented increase in cargo traffic. The cost of logistics, in general, is growing, since the cargo flow does not follow the usual peacetime route, there are risks for the movement of goods, significant delays, insufficient capacity of the railway and vehicles directly to the ports of the Danube region,†explained Dmitry Moskalenko and added that to avoid speculation in The ports of Reni and Izmail decided to sell freight through the Prozorro system. So managers are trying to ensure equal and transparent access to the fleet in the face of its shortage.
At the same time, the volume of exports through Reni and Izmail reached the maximum possible volumes. Managers had to reorient themselves to a new type of cargo urgently: if earlier the share of grain in transportation was only 12%, today it is 81% of cargo.
The new ships under the flag of Ukraine will help increase exports from 150,000 tons per month to 350,000-400,000 tons. The company also reoriented the routes to shorter distances - thanks to this, instead of 60 days per voyage, ships manage to make up to two voyages per month.
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