In 2021, NIBULON will celebrate its 30th anniversary. NIBULON’s founder, together with his team, has achieved much to be proud of, including establishing a high-capacity port complex, 12 river terminals, the largest river fleet, and transshipment operations in the outer roads.The Verkhovna Rada has given the company a bad present, having adopted the law “On Inland Water Transport”. The company’s management has repeatedly criticized this law. A journalist from the Ports of Ukraine magazine has interviewed Oleksiy Vadaturskyy, NIBULON’s General Director, asking about the company’s spirit and the way this law will influence its operations, as the company is the largest player in investing in the development of Ukraine’s inland waterways for many years.— The last calendar year was difficult for the Ukrainian agrarian sector, as the grain yield was reduced. What are NIBULON’s achievements? What volumes of grain were transported by inland waterways and how much was transshipped at river terminals? — We are satisfied with NIBULON’s operating results in 2020. We have the best river infrastructure, fleet, and we transship in the outer roads. Today we can supply the entire chain – from a commodity producer to a final consumer, so that a Ukrainian agrarian producer can become a participant on the international grain market. This is our strategic task, and the company annually achieves high results due to its developed infrastructure. The last year’s yield shortage in Ukraine did not influence our plans and results. Speaking about inland waterways, in 2020, the company achieved the best result since it commenced operations. NIBULON’s fleet transported 4.14 million tons of cargoes, and in 2019 – 3.8 million tons. We plan to transport up to 4.5 million tons in 2021. The company will certainly achieve this target. Despite the situation on inland and foreign markets, we prove that our company is sustainable, and we create cargo flows as well as influence the market.NIBULON’s tug and tow train on the Southern Buh— How did you manage to achieve this?— Both an increase in the company’s fleet and the modern Zelenodolska branch river transshipment terminal built last year play a key role in it. In addition, we are developing and implementing modern technologies, as well as organizational decisions to make the fleet operate efficiently, thereby increasing its turnover.Zelenodolska branch (Dnipropetrovsk region)— What volumes of grain are transshipped by NIBULON in the outer roads? What are your strategic plans to develop transshipment in the outer roads? — The NIBULON MAX 140-m self-propelled floating crane, put into operation in September 2019, improved the entire fleet operation. During its first year of operation and despite the coronavirus crisis, the vessel has achieved high results in the agricultural commodity shipment for export – 2.5 million tons. By comparison, the company had used its three floating cranes simultaneously to handle the same volume of cargoes before it started operation. At present the company transships 6 million tons in the outer roads, which exceeds NIBULON’s transshipment terminal capacity in Mykolaiv.We transship not only our own cargoes on seagoing vessels, but also cargoes belonged to other companies, such as ADM, COFCO, and РOSCO. We are not afraid of competitiveness at all. NIBULON MAX self-propelled floating crane— What share of grain from NIBULON’s fields were transported by NIBULON’s fleet in 2020, and what is a share of third parties’ cargoes freighted by the company’s fleet? — We should not differentiate this. On the one hand the company cultivates 80 thousand ha of land, but on the other, NIBULON is a subject of foreign economic activity. We, let’s say, help farmers to grow grain, finance, and provide mineral fertilizers. When they make deals, grain becomes our property. Consequently, we buy grain from farmers 3-4 months before it is exported to 20 countries abroad. — The company started to transport metal the year before last. Did you continue this transportation by inland waterways last year, and what are your future plans? What other cargoes do you consider to be prospective? — Yes, today our fleet transports not only grain, but also building materials, metal, coal, Kherson watermelons and melons, as well as oversized cargoes. We are ready to transport any cargo and can offer competitive transportation price. NIBULON conducts transshipment operations in the outer roads— At the end of 2020, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law “On Inland Water Transport”. It allows foreign-going vessels to operate on Ukrainian inland waterways. NIBULON is against this bill, as well as other companies that have started to talk openly about it for the last years. Do you expect the increased competition among carriers next year, when law provisions are in force? — The bill will destroy the domestic river navigation, leading to an uncontrolled fuel market, contraband, and environmental damage. Today everything is done to cause losses to Ukraine, to destroy navigation and Ukrainian shipbuilding. The law will destroy the environment, as it provides free sewage water discharge from vessels underway, which contradicts not only the environmental legislation of Ukraine, but also common sense. Ukraine takes 125th place out of 180 countries by fresh water reserves per head. More than 10 million Ukrainians and more than 10 thousand companies use water from the Dnipro. It was proposed to use cleaning systems meeting the standards of discharge into sea salt water. Ukraine does not have any opportunity to control sewage water discharge from vessels underway, let alone simultaneous analysis of treatment degree. The Committee on Environmental Policy, the Ministry of Ecology, and the Ministry of Health were against this provision, but they were not listen to. I asked officials and deputies whether they wanted this sewage water to be discharged in Kyiv opposite beaches and buildings.The law’s initiators and the officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure did not keep their promise to make river transportation cheaper. Please play attention to the recent case with “Ukrzaliznytsia”. 7,500 hopper cars with depleted operation resource that can be used only as scrap metal were delivered to Ukraine. These hopper cars, taking into account the surplus of a railcar fleet, are detained now. This destructs the railcar transportation sector. Russian vessels will operate on Ukrainian rivers and will displace Ukrainian players. These will be old vessels, including Volgo-Don, Volgo-Balta vessels built in the 1960s or 1970s. We will face accidents, like Delfi vessel had in Odesa. By the way, NIBULON’s tugs have recently helped to extinguish a fire on the Prince 4 vessel in the outer roads in Ochakiv. If these outdated foreign-going vessels damage a lock, it will be a planet-scale disaster. Isn’t it an act of sabotage? Nobody inspects these vessels; nobody knows their owners. We addressed the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry replied that it was not a legislative initiative subject, and the deputies had not provided the bill for consideration. Thus, the deputies, voted for this bill, do not take any responsibility.NIBULON’s transshipment terminal in Mykolaiv— NIBULON is a national company, and you always stand for operating in the Ukrainian legislation, for paying taxes in Ukraine, and others. The law is advantageous for the foreign-going vessels. Have you considered an opportunity to re-register a part of your fleet under the foreign jurisdiction in order to maintain your vessels in perfect conditions and to ensure deserved working conditions for your crew?—When I asked the officials whether they wanted NIBULON’s fleet to fly the flag of a foreign country, they answered they would not allow me to do it, because NIBULON had to pay excise duties. I asked whether they limited NIBULON’s activities. They answered that if I wanted, I could think so. Consequently, they decided to restrict the company’s activities, which had invested in developing inland waterways and Ukrainian fleet more than any other business entities put together and even more than the Ministry invests in maintaining the critical infrastructure since Ukraine’s independence. We want Ukraine to become a marine state, rather than a country at the seaside with a fleet flying the Panama and Comoro Islands flags. I struggle to understand the highest rank officials asking to take a selfie with me, and these very officials adopt laws that cause damage to Ukraine and national interests.I want to stress that we are not afraid of competitiveness. The company will be increasing the volumes of river transportation. We are against foreign-going vessels on Ukrainian rivers not because we are afraid of competitors. We did it to protect Ukraine’s interests and for the benefit of Ukraine’s integration into EU. We are for equal economic rights. We do not ask for the benefits. The EU, the USA, and Great Britain do not allow foreign-going vessels to operate on inland waterways, and taking into account the lock cascade on the Dnipro, it is a matter of both economic and national security as a whole. Grain loading at Kozatska branch transshipment terminal (Kherson region)— The “river” bill was developed and was on the vote in the Verkhovna Rada in one form or another. NIBULON’s top managers had to go into politics and to become deputies. You were competitors of the party in power during the last elections. Did the politics influence the law adoption? — We did not have and do not have any rivalry. I am a patriot of Ukraine, NIBULON is a family business, and we protect the interests of our country. We have neither lobbied our interests nor asked for the benefits. When the President of Ukraine, ministers and People’s Deputies visited Mykolaiv, I asked Volodymyr Zelenskyi this question, and he redirected it to the Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Krykliy. He could not name the bill’s initiators and referred to deputies, but the bill had been developed during Yanukovych regime. This is the worst of its variants. Probably, former deputies could not event imagine that the law would be adopted in this edition. None of restaurant owners, photographers or directors of sand pits can write this 300-page law. The majority did not read the bill at all. The law was adopted for the sake of a loan line for Ukraine. I was surprised that the President’s order was ignored. Meetings with businesses and local authorities were useless. NIBULON existed, exists, and will exist. It now remains doubtful whether Ukrainian river fleet and shipbuilding will exist.After the Revolution of Dignity, I, together with my team, started to believe, like many other people, that we can help Ukraine to achieve better future and to make it a European country. I was offered to go into politics, but I refused, as I realized that I could do more for the country as NIBULON’s General Director. My son, Andriy, became the Verkhovna Rada People’s Deputy. He did not lobby the interests of our company. He was a co-author and participated in developing 186 bills. It is possible to say that he lobbied the development of small winemaking, and he stood for issues related to medicine, road transport, etc. Nobody notices it; people pay attention to the fact that he was a co-author of the bill on inland water transport. It is rational that the deputy, a former businessman, knows the specificity of water transport operation and offers a bill concerning this very issue. He became a co-author of the bill, having a considerable experience, and he wrote its law provisions as a specialist. Loading of building cargoes— “Quarreling” in mass media looked like a certain political confrontation, and the law was directed against NIBULON, although there are many more opponents of a foreign-going fleet… — When the law was adopted, many people congratulated me. They were sure the law would protect Ukraine’s interests and develop inland waterways. I had to explain its true nature. The laws are adopted only for the sake of show and a will of puppet masters. These puppet masters are financial and industrial groups. Thus, in 2013, the law “On Sea Ports of Ukraine” was adopted, making financial and industrial groups the port owners. If the state Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company’s fleet flies the flag of Slovakia, it will not be a state approach. Having adopted the law “On Inland Water Transport”, it is quite possible that the fleet of the Administration of Sea Ports of Ukraine will fly the foreign flag. When we informed the President that the bill would lead to fuel contraband, he said that the entire government branch must be engaged in preventing contraband. He addressed the Minister of Infrastructure, Vladyslav Krykliy, but he said that the law-enforcement authorities were responsible for it. The President gave orders to Davyd Arakhamia, a parliamentary leader, and other deputies to regulate this issue. It resulted in new fuel contraband schemes. Tens of tankers fuel vessels near Ukraine’s territorial waters, and excise duties are paid by NIBULON mostly. — How the law adoption will influence NIBULON’s plans? — We continue operations and are not afraid of competitiveness. Today NIBULON’s total grain storage capacity comprises 2.25 million tons of grain. The company’s grain storage capacity on water comprises 1.13 million tons – NIBULON’s main transshipment terminal for grain and oilseeds transshipment in Mykolaiv and 12 branches along the Dnipro and the Southern Buh. — NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard has received an opportunity to build boats for Ukrainian border guards. You are going to build them as a subcontractor in cooperation with the French company. How did you reach these agreements?— We reached these agreements not due to the Ukrainian officials, but despite them. Nobody mentioned NIBULON. French partners were informed about other companies, and they inspected other shipyards. The French Ambassador told the French delegation about NIBULON. They phoned us and came to inspect our shipyard, although they have already had top-level arrangements concerning the builder of these boats. Despite this, they decided to give this order to NIBULON, as the company has the most modern shipbuilding yard in Ukraine with up-to-date production lines, which had already built 80 vessels at the time of the visit. The shipyard employs one thousand best shipbuilders. The French party said that NIBULON’s level could be coincided with the level of its company which builds these boats. They have chosen us, because they need a reliable partner. They are responsible for quality and timely contract execution. The first vessels will be launched during 2022-2023.The launching of the non-self-propelled B1500 project vessel— What benefits will you have? Is it profitable or it concerns the acquirement of new experience (new techniques for you) and the opportunities to enter a new market? — Yes, it is. It is valuable for us. We want to build a Ukrainian fleet to strengthen the sea security system and to protect Ukrainian borders. We want to prove that Ukrainian shipbuilders can build modern fleet. We have many skillful designers. The shipbuilding must be developed in future; we must become sustainable and learn how to produce things by ourselves.— Taking into account all the disappointments on the legislative level, NIBULON appears to be a sustainable company that can overcome difficult times. Probably, new people will run the country who will assist to develop river transportation, shipbuilding …— You know, it is a pity that so much efforts have been taken to protect the interests of our sectors. It is a pity that so much time has been wasted for communicating with officials having no desire to develop shipbuilding and so forth. On the other hand we feel support from people and specialists in various sectors. I am happy to meet Ukrainian shipbuilders at foreign airports, thanking me and asking to take a selfie. They know that NIBULON has done a lot for Ukrainian shipbuilders. 7,000 employees work for our company. Every year we pay 1.5 billion of wages and about UAH 1 billion of taxes.The specialists from the marine sector have acknowledged me as a person of the year in the National Maritime Rating for three consecutive years. I am a director of Mykolaiv agrarian company, who managed to become a person of the year in the marine sector. NIBULON has become a shipping and shipbuilding company … We will continue to develop ourselves and set new records. The 30th anniversary is just the beginning!https://ports.ua/aleksej-vadaturskij-my-hotim-chtoby-ukraina-byla-morskoj-derzhavoj-a-ne-stranoj-u-morya/?fbclid=IwAR2fwWDF8GzdSuNRvHyRN0lOU4LMqtaz47drGKQRTimuICCHUsfaEOEGToA