On December 12, the General Director of Ukrainian Danube Shipping, Dmytro Moskalenko, announced the start of a project during a public report by the team of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine.

"We have been preparing for the comprehensive modernization of the traction fleet of Ukrainian Danube Shipping since 2022. We stabilized the company's financial condition, initiated reforms, which allowed us to attract the interest of international donors, including a member of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC). In parallel, we met with representatives of Danube shipyards, seeking optimal project solutions.

Last summer in London, an agreement was signed with the IFC aimed at expanding and modernizing the fleet of Ukrainian Danube Shipping. A comprehensive due diligence of our enterprise (legal, financial, technical, corporate) was initiated with the involvement of Baker McKenzie and Royal HaskoningDHV. IFC conducted an E&S due diligence regarding compliance with environmental requirements.

At the same time, at our plant, we were preparing the first batch of self-propelled vessels for modernization, which had been in storage for a long time."

Agreed upon project solutions and commissioned ÖSWAG for the project, as the Austrians were the ones who designed and built the self-propelled fleet planned for modernization in the first stage. The modernization work will begin next year as part of a pilot project.

Same time, the transformation of Ukrainian Danube Shipping will continue - evaluating assets and conducting an independent audit of the UDS group, transitioning to an international financial reporting system, consolidating UDS group companies, and implementing corporate reform. The successful completion of the transformation will serve as the basis for receiving investments from international donors and scaling the experience of the pilot modernization project to the entire traction fleet of UDS. Technical details of the modernization, which involve engine replacement, are a topic for a separate in-depth discussion.

"Today, I congratulate all Danube sailors who have been waiting for this day for decades. We will do everything to bring this great undertaking to completion," said Dmytro Moskalenko.