This is a social project for NIBULON as the transportation is not profitable.  The company is transporting watermelons for the third consecutive year. Our aim is to support farmers who grow fruit and vegetables, and to please Kyiv citizens.  
“This event should not evoke much public attention; it must be a common practice. Frankly speaking, we are surprised to hear that it caused such pleasure and interest. Ukraine deserves higher achievements in the area of river logistics, which NIBULON struggles to develop. NIBULON does everything to make Ukraine a maritime state, rather than just a country with a sea coast. NIBULON is a Ukrainian company that constructs its modern fleet without government support. The company did it practically on its own”, noted NIBULON’s General Director Oleksiy Vadaturskyy.
Yurii Husev, the Head of Kherson Regional State Administration, agreed and stressed the necessity of increasing the volumes transported by water. He praised the advantages of water transportation in the development of logistics and infrastructure in Kherson region.
“It is important that the vessel not only helps to deliver 500 tons of our tastiest watermelons to Kyiv supermarkets but also helps to save costs on road repairs caused by overloaded trucks transporting fruit and vegetables from Kherson region. The waterways are very important in terms of logistics and the development of transport infrastructure in the region in general. I am convinced that we should have more than one vessel per year to transport products. My colleagues from other regions have asked me many questions about the vessel this week. Thus, Kyiv is waiting for it”.
By transporting comparatively small volumes of products, NIBULON manages to remove about 20 trucks from the roads. Thus, the watermelons to be delivered to Kyiv in good condition will be of high quality. The highways will also be preserved.
Oleksiy Vadaturskyy thinks that the citizens living in other cities along the Dnipro River (Dnipro, Kremenchuk, Cherkasy, and others) also deserve to eat the tastiest watermelons from Kherson region. To this end, the company’s opinion must be considered on the ways to make water transport competitive with other modes of transport.
Vitalii Buliuk, the Deputy Head of Kherson Regional State Administration, stressed that during the Soviet period, more than 30 thousand tons of watermelons were transported each year along the Dnipro River to Kyiv and other cities located on the river.
“This is our aim to be achieved as soon as possible. I would like to thank all the farmers and particularly NIBULON for helping us to achieve it”, said Vitalii Buliuk.
Oleksandr Synenko, the President of Pivdennyi Soiuz Cooperative, said, “Due to NIBULON and Oleksiy Vadaturskyy’s assistance in logistics, this wonderful barge transports watermelons for the third consecutive year. Why have we found mutual understanding? These watermelons perform miracles. They bring joy to adults and kids; they draw attention to the Dnipro River and its current condition. The very watermelon draws attention to the situation in Ukraine, in particular to its roads damaged by overloaded trucks. We want to draw the attention to our officials to this when they consider the law on the Dnipro status and river transportation. A watermelon symbolizes the Earth, where everything is moving”.
Next week, people will have an opportunity to buy sweet watermelons in Silpo supermarkets and to eat them together with their families and friends.