Conquering Europe with an age fleet - an interview with the head of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company. Dmitry Chaly: “Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company should develop on a systematic basis Danube Shipping Company

Story

• In 1883, the first Russian shipping company "Prince Yuri Gagarin and Co" appeared.
• In 1886, the shipping company of Prince Gagarin was transformed into a joint-stock company called the Black Sea-Danube Shipping Company.
• On October 14, 1944, by decision of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, the Soviet Danube State Shipping Company was established in the city of Izmail to ensure the transportation of Soviet troops and equipment along the Danube, as well as national economic cargo.

The shipping company began its activities in difficult wartime conditions. Retreating under the onslaught of the Red Army troops, the fascist invaders disabled the fleet, mined the fairway, destroyed ports, blew up bridges, and sought to exclude for a long time the possibility of using the Danube for transport purposes. The source of replenishment of the fleet was the flooded ships, the rise of which was started in December 1944 by the 24th Directorate of Special Construction of the Reserve of the High Command, and from April 19, 1945, these functions were transferred to the formed Danube Military Transport Directorate (DVTU). In the SDGP, a ship-lifting detachment was created in 1945, after the dissolution of the DVTU, ship-lifting was assigned to the Danube Shipping Company, a ship-lifting detachment was transferred to it along with floating bases, and by 1948 the Danube fairway was cleared. During 1945, the shipping company accepted 817 fleet units, including 142 self-propelled vessels, 60 non-self-propelled and 71 technical fleet units. The received ships were in a neglected and plundered state, many of them had combat damage.

The shipping company's fleet went through a number of stages in its development. The initial period is the restoration of trophy damaged and raised from the bottom of the river ships; the second stage is modernization; the third is an almost complete renewal of transport river vessels; the fourth is the creation of the shipping company's own navy. The growth of trade turnover, the development of navigation on the Danube required the equipping of the shipping company with qualitatively new vessels. In the 1950s and 1960s, 75 new tugboats and pushers of the Vladivostok, Kyiv, Moscow, Riga, Ivanovo, and Kornoiburg types were built.

In the 70s and 80s, the shipping company's river fleet was replenished with powerful pushers of the types: "Sergey Avdeenkov", "Zaporozhye", "Leningrad" and 19 self-propelled dry-cargo vessels of the "Kapitan Antipov" type (the series is named after the workers of the shipping company). Along with this, the obsolete fleet was decommissioned. During these years, there was a rapid replenishment of the non-self-propelled fleet due to the construction of tanker and dry-cargo barges on the Kiliya shipyard, as well as at shipyards in Austria, Romania, Bulgaria ... The ships of the shipping company annually transported 70% of all Danube cargo, mainly metal, grain, ore, equipment, which made the SDP a monopoly on the river. In 1957, a deep-sea channel, Prorva, was opened in the Kiliya part of the Danube Delta, which contributed to the development of maritime transport and the fleet of the SDP.

The shipping company entered foreign sea lines at the end of the 50s, when sea vessels of the Tissa type entered into operation. In the 60s, offshore dry-cargo vessels of the following types were built: "Tartu", "Elva", "Fryazino", "Shenkursk", "New Donbass", "Inzhener Belov", "Baltiysky", "Alexander Dovzhenko" - in total about 30 courts. In the 70s, 35 tankers and dry-cargo vessels of the types: Chisinau, Baltika, Altai, Sosnovets, Rostok, Young Partizan, Vasily Shukshin. The carrying capacity of the marine self-propelled fleet amounted to 300 thousand tons. In the summer of 1967, navigation through the Suez Canal suddenly ceased due to hostilities in the Middle East. The vessels of the Danube Shipping Company "Reni", "New Donbass", "Novoshakhtinsk", "Novorzhev" with cargo for the ports of the Red Sea were forced to go around Africa and crossed the equator for the first time. In 1972, motor ships "Gorki Leninskie", "Voznesensk", "Vishnevogorsk", "Gorokhovets" started transportation from the ports of the Danube through the Volga-Don Canal to the ports of Iran on the Caspian Sea. Due to the drop in the water level in this channel, by the end of navigation in 1972, the ships could not return to their home port and, together with the Kozelsk motor ship, having passed through internal waterways, worked until the 1973 navigation on the transportation of goods between the ports of the Baltic and North Seas, and Yakub Kolas worked between the ports of Iran and Baku on the Caspian Sea.

November 25-26, 1976 the ship "Rechitsa" (series "Rostok") sank in the Aegean Sea about 60 miles south of Rhodes. 12 sailors were killed.

In 1978, a lighter carrier "Julius Fucik" was built in Finland for the SDP, and in 1979 the same type "Tibor Samueli" was built. On May 19, 1978, on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement between four countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, the international, economic shipping company Interlikhter (MSHP) was created. The first regular line for the transportation of goods from the Danubian states - Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and the USSR was opened in December 1978 by the port of Ust - Dunaysk - Bombay (India) and Karachi (Pakistan). Lighter carriers with capacity power plant 36 thousand hp each could take on board and place 26 lighters on three decks. Their deadweight was about 36,600 tons, length 267 m, width 35 m, depth 22.7 m, draft 11 m. Such dimensions did not allow these vessels to enter the Danube. Especially for the acceptance and maintenance of ships of the lighter-carrying system, as well as the transshipment of goods in the Danube-Sea communication, a base for servicing lighter carriers at the mouth of the Danube was founded in 1978, called Ust-Dunaysk (it received port status in 1985). Every year, the lighter carriers Julius Fucik and Tibor Samueli transported up to half a million tons of cargo in total.

During the period of its existence - from December 1978 to September 1995 - the sea vessels of the SME "Interlighter" made 252 round-the-world voyages, including 151 voyages on the Danube-India-Pakistan line and 102 voyages on the Danube-Mekong line. The volume of transportation over these years amounted to 6.4 million tons, including 4.3 million tons in the export of the Danubian countries. Since 1984, a lighter transport and technological system has been operating. She was serviced by two Finnish-built dock lighter carriers, m/v Boris Polevoy and Pavel Antokolsky, and two Italian-built m/v Anatoly Zheleznyakov and Nikolai Markin. The system worked in the following areas: the ports of the Black and Mediterranean Seas, the Middle East, North and East Africa. At the end of the 1980s, the shipping company built a series of ten vegetable carrier ships "Georgy Agafonov" of mixed navigation "Danube - Sea". The connections of the Soviet Danube Shipping Company on the Danube were diverse. The SDP took part in the work of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the Danube Commission, in the implementation of the Bratislava Accords, in the permanent CMEA Commission on Transport, and in the Soviet-Bulgarian transport association Dunaitrans.

In the 80s, the Soviet Danube Shipping Company was a large complex enterprise. Only the transport fleet consisted of more than 1000 units with a deadweight of about 1 million tons, which included sea and river vessels, lighter carriers, more than a hundred units of the service and auxiliary fleet. SDP provided transportation of foreign trade cargoes of countries, cargoes of foreign owners in the Danube river basin, as well as to the ports of the Black, Mediterranean, Red Seas of Southeast Asia. Western and Northern Europe. The annual traffic volume was 11.5-12 million tons. The ships of the shipping company annually visited more than 150 ports of different countries of the world. Passenger sea and river vessels transported Soviet and foreign tourists. The passenger tourist line "From the Alps to the Black Sea" was very popular - for the first time in the system of the USSR navy, which proved the profitability of passenger transportation. This line was served by river motor ships "Amur", "Danube" and sea "Belinsky", "Ossetia". With the continuation of the route to the port of Istanbul (Turkey), modern comfortable ships got on the line: "Volga", "Dnepr", "Ukraine", "Moldavia", and the sea ship "Aivazovsky". Local linear transportation was served by hydrofoils: "Rocket", "Voskhod", "Meteor", sea - "Kometa", pleasure boats and lake trams, from the 80s - "Izmail", "Izmail-2".

On April 1, 1982, the ship "Radomyshl" (series "Rostok"), while at anchor in the port of Izmail, suffered from a mine explosion during the Second World War.

• In 1983, the Soviet Danube Shipping Company was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.

New story

After the collapse of the USSR under Alexei Fedorovich Tekhov, the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company received its modern name. In the 90s, the fleet of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company was replenished with a series of six sea vessels, the lead ship "Izmail". This is the first vessel to enter service under the flag of sovereign Ukraine. The design of the Izmail ships was significantly improved by the shipping company specialists, taking into account the specifics of transportation and the region of service of the UDP, as well as improving operational characteristics. In 1990, the m/v Izmail was recognized as the best in its class by the authoritative maritime publication Lloyd List. The shipping company owned its own container fleet. The shipping company carries out river transportation along the most powerful and developed European transport corridor VII - entirely passing along the Danube River.

• On November 01, 2007, the management of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company, represented by O. N. Titamir, concluded an agreement with the offshore company Bardina Shipmanagement Ltd (Cyprus), transferring 10 ships of the enterprise for charter.

Having received the ships for charter, the company "Bardina Shipmanagement Ltd (Cyprus)" without the consent of JSC "UDP" transferred them to the companies "Marine Energy Trading Company Ltd." (METSO) (London, UK), Silver Knot Shipping (Tortola, British Virgin Islands) and Marine Technical Center (Odessa, Ukraine). Already six months after the transfer of the ships, the Cypriot company began to accumulate debts to the UDP for payments for freight and, as it turned out later, debts to third parties to pay the costs associated with servicing the ships. This was the reason for the arrest of chartered ships on the territory of various states. .

On September 21, 2008, the ship "Moldavia", operating the flight "Passau - Izmail - Vilkovo - Passau", with 140 passengers on board (mostly German citizens), was detained in the Bulgarian port of Lom by the port captain, based on a statement from the lawyers of Marine Energy Trading Company (METCO). On September 24, 2008, the court, having studied the claims of METCO, declared the arrest of the vessel illegal. . It became obvious that the UDP could repeat the fate of the Black Sea Shipping Company, most of whose ships were transferred in the 1990s to specially created offshore companies and subsequently sold for debts.

However, on September 11, 2009, almost for the first time in history, the Ukrainian state enterprise - "Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company", the management of the shipping company headed by Vadym Sukhonenko, with the active support of the lawyers of the company "Vasil Kisil and Partners", managed to defend their interests in arbitration on the return of ships to Ukraine. .

• On October 05, 2009, the Izmail city district court considered the case on charges of the acting president of UDP OJSC, who knew for certain that in the period from January 11 to January 16, 2008, UDP OJSC received an order from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to prohibit the alienation property of OAO UDP dated January 10, 2008 No. 19-01/081/11-08 and the order of the Minister of Transport and Communications of Ukraine No. 6 dated January 8, 2008 on the prohibition of actions related to the disposal of state property, including rent.

However, on January 31, 2008, the defendant signed deliberately false protocols for the transfer of 10 ships to the charter of UDP OJSC under the bareboat charter agreement No. 647 SEMF, concluded between UDP OJSC and the non-resident company Bardina Shipmenagemtnt Ltd (Cyprus), and the acceptance - the transfer of these vessels was not actually carried out. Due to the fact that the prosecutor of the Danube Transport Prosecutor's Office explained at the court session that he did not mind that the accused was released from criminal liability and the termination of the criminal case against him since he sincerely repented of his deed, actively contributed to the disclosure of the crime, committed a crime not big severity, as well as due to a change in the situation, the act committed by him has lost its public danger, the court decided to terminate the criminal case and release the defendant from criminal liability. .

Owners and management

• On February 15, 2008, Evgeniy Sergeevich Samoshin was appointed Acting President of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company.

The young leader launched a comprehensive program to bring the enterprise out of the crisis, under which the management structure was reformed (the number of management units was reduced from 41 to 25), the number of personnel was significantly optimized, the first systems for monitoring the movement of ships and fuel consumption were installed, a corporate website was opened UDP Vadim Sukhonenko has repeatedly stated that the state status is not compatible with the efficient operation of the shipping company, but allows politicians to receive political dividends, speculating on the problems of the enterprise.

In January 2010, Vadim Vladimirovich Sukhonenko entered into a public conflict with the acting Minister of Transport and Communications Vasily Vasilyevich Shevchenko due to the latter's refusal to sign an agreed order to write off several units of the fleet. . On January 27, 2010, employees of the shipping company picketed the building of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and the trade union committee of the seafarers of UDP OJSC filed a lawsuit to recover 40 million hryvnias from the Ministry of Transport. . The inaction of officials to write off obsolete ships of the shipping companies led to an emergency situation and the threat of flooding of several ships in February 2010. . Later, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine confirmed the legitimacy of the demands of the Danubians. .

The company employs over 3500 people. The river fleet of PJSC "Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company" transports: iron ore, coal and coke, grain cargo, metals and various general cargoes, fertilizers in bulk and in packaging, machinery and equipment, bulky and heavy cargo.

The company's passenger fleet carries out tourist cruises from the headwaters of the Danube to its mouth and has been consistently popular with tourists from many countries for several decades. Four comfortable vessels - "Ukraine", "Moldavia", "Volga" and "Dnepr" - meet all the criteria of modern service.

PJSC "UDP" owns 49% of the transport company Deutsch-Ukrainische Verkehrsgesellschaft GmbH DUV (Regensburg, Germany) . The shipping company owns shares or certificates of the Panamanian company Danubo Shipping S.A. and its subsidiaries - Second Danubo Shipping S.A. and Danubo Special Shipping S.A. . Danubo Shipping S.A. owns 31% of shares in DSMS (Vienna, Austria), 100% of shares in DUNAJSLOVTRANS, s.r.o. (Bratislava, Slovakia). Danubo Special Shipping S.A., in turn, is the founder of 10 Maltese offshore companies: First DSCo, Second DSCo, etc. .

PJSC "UDP" has its own representative offices (agencies) in the cities of Vienna (Austria), Regensburg (Germany), Bratislava (Slovakia), Belgrade (Serbia), Budapest (Hungary), Bucharest and Galati (Romania), Ruse (Bulgaria).

Currently, the shipping company is a chronically unprofitable company, which is caused by a number of factors: the collapse of the USSR, which led to the reformatting of cargo flows on the Danube, the state status of the enterprise, the war in Yugoslavia. At the same time, visible financial well-being was created for many years through the sale of the fleet, the number of which has decreased by 400 units over 20 years. The largest creditors of the shipping company are state bodies.

Links

• WAT "UKRAINIAN DANUBE STEAM" (ukr.)

Video links

Notes

1. The crew that stayed at sea
2. "Shipping is my destiny." Historical collection
3. Courts under arrest
4. Bulgaria releases Ukrainian ship "Moldavia" from arrest
5. Danube Shipping Company: Destruction Scenario Failed
6. Resolution of the Izmail city district court in case No. 1-365 −2009 dated October 05, 2009
7. Order of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine "On approval of the new version of the Charter of OJSC "UDP"
8. In the Odessa region, the port "Yuzhny" bankrupts the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company
9. Bankruptcy of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company is canceled
10. Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company terrorized by Romanian pirates
11. Order of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Ukraine "On granting JSC "UDP" the status of a national carrier"
12. Yanukovych instructed Rudkovsky to resume Suvorov as head of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company
13. Alliance for Destruction
14. Danube Shipping Company is being prepared for sale
15. “Shadow owners are leading the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company to bankruptcy” - Deputy Minister Badagov

History of development

The development of navigation on the Danube began in the 19th century. In 1834, the Izmail merchants owned 20 ships, the Reni merchants - 5 units of the fleet. In order to take goods abroad along the shortest route, transport of a small carrying capacity was used, since the Kiliya branch of the Danube did not allow ships with a draft of more than 6 feet (1 foot - 33 cm) to pass.
In the middle of the 19th century, the rise of the Danube ports is observed. Only in 1846 Izmail was visited by 138 ships, among them 50 Russian, 45 Turkish, 38 Greek, 8 Austrian, 2 English. Russian defeat in Crimean War(1853-1856) became the main obstacle in the development of the Danube trade. For 20 years, Russia was virtually eliminated from the Danube. After winning in Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878 The state border of Russia was established along the Kiliya branch of the Danube and along the Prut River.

In the early 80s of the 19th century, the Russian government faced the task of creating a steamboat society on the Danube. On July 3, 1881, the “Regulations on Urgent Commodity and Passenger Steamship Communication between the Cities of Odessa and Izmail with Calls at Kiliya and Reni” were approved. The document noted that ... “Yu.E. Gagarin assumes the obligation to maintain the correct goods and passenger traffic through the steamer Olga belonging to him ... ". Every two weeks to Izmail, then to Kiliya, from Kiliya to Reni, from Reni to Izmail and through Sulina to Odessa, the entrepreneur's steamer made urgent trips. The ship's speed was 7 knots. The second ship Yu.E. Gagarin's Fedor, renamed Izmail in 1883, made 18 voyages to the port of Reni.
Yuri Evgenievich Gagarin became a pioneer in the establishment of regular Danube trade. His goal was noble - to open the way to the Danube for the Russian commercial fleet. He spent all his capital on a new, still unknown business.
Gradually, regular cabotage transportation between the Russian Danube ports was established. However, the development of capitalist production, the growth of output required new markets for goods. It was necessary to establish close trade relations with the Danubian countries. Gagarin could not resolve this issue alone. His personal funds for this was not enough.
In 1883, the business started by Gagarin grew into a trading company. 125 years ago, the first Russian shipping company "Prince Yuri Gagarin and Co" appeared. From November 8 (21), 1883, for the first time in the history of domestic merchant shipping on the Danube, Russia establishes regular international trade relations with the Danube states.
To stay on the banks of the Danube in competition with the shipping companies of other foreign powers, it was necessary to have a strong merchant fleet. Therefore, a few years later, in 1886, the steamship company of Prince Gagarin was transformed into a joint-stock company called the Black Sea-Danube Shipping Company. This society opened the road to Russian goods along the great European river and proved the advantage of steamship traffic on the Danube.

October 14, 1944 year by decision of the State Committee of Defense of the USSR to ensure the transportation of Soviet troops and equipment along the Danube, as well as national economic goods in the city of Izmail The Soviet Danube State Shipping Company was created.
Having begun its activity in the difficult conditions of wartime, the shipping company went through a number of stages in its development:
- restoration of trophy damaged and salvaged ships from the bottom of the river;
- modernization of the fleet;
- almost complete renewal of transport river vessels;
- Creation of a shipping company's own navy.
The growth of trade turnover, the development of navigation on the Danube required the equipping of the shipping company with qualitatively new vessels. In the 50s - 60s, 75 new tugs and pushers were built type: "Vladivostok", "Kyiv", "Moscow", "Riga", "Ivanovo", "Kornoyburg", and in 70s - 80s Over the years, the river fleet of the shipping company has been replenished with powerful pushers of the Sergey Avdeenkov, Zaporozhye, Leningrad types and 19 self-propelled dry-cargo vessels of the Kapitan Antipov series. Along with this, the obsolete fleet was decommissioned. During these years, there was a rapid replenishment of the non-self-propelled fleet due to the construction of tanker and dry-cargo barges at the Kiliya shipyard, as well as at the shipyards of Austria, Romania, Bulgaria - more than 1300 units in total.
The ships of the shipping company annually transported 70% of all Danube cargo, mainly metal, grain, ore, equipment, which made the Soviet Danube Shipping Company a monopoly on the river.
In 1957, in the Kiliya part of the Danube Delta, a deep-sea canal Prorva, which contributed to the development of maritime transport and the UDP fleet.
The shipping company entered foreign sea lines at the end of the 50s, when sea vessels of the Tissa type entered into operation. In the 1960s, offshore dry-cargo vessels of the types Tartu, Elva, Fryazino, Shenkursk, Novy Donbass, Inzhener Belov, Baltiysky, Alexander Dovzhenko were built (about 30 ships in total). ), and in the 70s - 35 tankers and dry cargo vessels of the types "Kishinev", "Baltika", "Altai", "Sosnovets", "Rostok", " Young partisan"," Vasily Shukshin. The carrying capacity of the marine self-propelled fleet amounted to 300 thousand tons.
On May 19, 1978, on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement between four countries - Bulgaria, Hungary, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia - the international economic shipping company "Interlichter" was created, the participants of which were the shipping companies BRP, MAHART, SDP and CHSPD. The scope of his activities included non-transshipment transportation of goods in lighters between the Danube countries and the states of South and Southeast Asia.
Since 1984, a lighter carrier transport and technological system has been operating, serviced by lighter carriers Boris Polevoy, Pavel Antokolsky, Anatoly Zheleznyakov and Nikolai Markin. The system worked in the following areas: the ports of the Black and Mediterranean Seas, the Middle East, North and East Africa.
During the period of its existence - from December 1978 to September 1995 - the sea vessels of the MHSP "Interlighter" "Julius Fucik" and "Tibor Samueli" made 252 voyages on the Danube - India - Pakistan and Danube - Mekong lines. The volume of traffic over these years amounted to 6.4 million tons, including 4.3 million tons in the export of the Danube countries.
At the end of the 80s, the shipping company builds ten vegetable carriers of the mixed Danube - sea navigation of the Georgy Agafonov series

In the 1980s, the Soviet Danube Shipping Company was a large integrated enterprise, the transport fleet of which alone consisted of more than 1,000 units with a deadweight of about 1 million tons. SDP provided transportation of foreign trade cargoes of the country, cargoes of foreign owners in the Danube river basin, as well as to the ports of the Black, Mediterranean, Red Seas of Southeast Asia, Western and Northern Europe.
The annual traffic volume was 11.5 - 12 million tons. The ships of the shipping company annually visited more than 150 ports of different countries of the world. Passenger sea and river vessels transported Soviet and foreign tourists. The passenger tourist line "From the Alps to the Black Sea" was very popular, for the first time in the system of the USSR navy, which proved the profitability of passenger transportation. This line was served by river motor ships "Amur", "Danube" and sea "Belinsky", "Ossetia". With the continuation of the route to the port of Istanbul (Turkey), modern comfortable ships got on the line: "Volga", "Dnepr", "Ukraine", "Moldavia", and the sea ship "Aivazovsky".
Local linear transportation was served by hydrofoils "Rocket", "Voskhod", "Meteor" (sea - "Kometa"), pleasure boats and lake trams, and since the 80s - "Izmail" and "Izmail-2".
In 1983, the Soviet Danube Shipping Company was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.
In the 1990s, the fleet of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company was replenished with a series of six ships built in Portugal. The head ship "Izmail", the first ship commissioned under the flag of sovereign Ukraine, in 1990 was recognized as the best in its class by the authoritative marine publication "Lloyd List". Marine fleet UDP is used in tramp transportation and on container lines DMKS (containers) and ANEX (containers and general cargo), covering the Mediterranean, Middle East and Black Sea regions. The main cargoes of maritime transport are metal, grain, saw timber, fertilizers, citrus fruits.

In recent years, the UDP river fleet has been replenished with 25 modern non-self-propelled vessels - barge-sections SL, SLG, tankers SLT, built at the Kiliya Shipyard. The project was made on the basis of retro-reconstructions of the unclaimed fleet of DM lighters.
The passenger fleet of the UDP carries out liner transportation on the Lower Danube to the ports of Romania and Bulgaria and large ones on the Upper Danube from Hungary to Germany. The tourist line "From the Alps to the Danube Delta" is very popular among foreign tourists. Passenger transportation of UDP is successfully developing, bringing a stable profit to the shipping company.
The fundamental documents that testify to the high quality of the shipping company's work are the MKUB certificate - safety management and the certificate of conformity of the ISO-9002 quality system, received first in Ukraine:
In 2001, JSC "Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company" was the first in the country to be given the status of a national carrier.
JSC "UDP" is one of the largest shipping companies not only in Ukraine, but also in Western Europe, which over the years of its activity has confirmed its authority as a reliable partner and an undisputed leader in the provision of transport services and maintaining the proper level of transportation safety. Evidence of this - many domestic and international awards, including: "Golden Fortune", a certificate of OJSC "UDP" on entering the rating of the best companies in Ukraine, a nomination in the "Golden Book of the Ukrainian Elite".
Newspaper "Dunaets"

Recently, a lot of true stories and fables have been hovering around the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company. To clarify the situation, our correspondent met with acting. chairman of the board of the shipping company Dmitry Chaly.

– Dmitry Sergeevich, please tell us, what financial and economic results did the company you lead complete in 2017?

- Last year, the fleet of PJSC "UDP" transported 2.6 million tons of cargo, incl. by sea - 0.3 million tons. In 2017, three of the four cruise ships of the shipping company were chartered (in 2016 - two), which led to an increase in the volume of passenger transportation to 15 thousand people (in 2016 - about 10 thousand). The data are given together with the service on the m/v "Evgeny Kosyakov". In 2017, one barge of the TP-631 project was built at the Kiliya Shipyard, 58 fleet units were repaired, incl. for UDP - 35.

According to the results of the last year, the company received a profit in the amount of UAH 1.5 million, i.е. managed to compensate for the damage caused by the extremely unfavorable navigational situation in winter. The second factor that negatively affected the activities of the shipping company was the fact that in the fourth quarter of 2017, due to the lack of grain from Serbia, Hungary and the excess merchant fleet on the Danube, which arose as a result, freight rates decreased significantly, especially in December.

In 2017, the volume of net profit for the marine fleet also decreased compared to 2016, due to the absence of a charterer. During the whole year m/v "Tatarbunary" and m/v "Kiliya" were laid up, and during 131 days - m/v "Viana do Castelo".

- How are the clauses of the collective agreement regarding social guarantees for personnel being implemented today?

- All clauses of the collective agreement, with the exception of one, are fully implemented. The point that we cannot yet fulfill has come to me, so to speak, by inheritance. This is a non-payment of bonuses to the team for the fourth quarter of 2016. We are constantly discussing this issue with the chairman of the trade union committee, Vitaly Tatarchuk.

Today, the priority task is to prepare passenger ships for navigation. We are investing colossal funds in the repair of all four ships, as well as in the modernization of the Ukraine and Moldavia. We are ready to return to the issue of premiums already in April, after our “passengers” start navigation.

I want to note that from December 1, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the state budget for 2017, the living wage has increased in Ukraine. And if the previous administration of the UDP, referring to the difficult financial situation, used the norm of the law, which allowed to postpone the increase in salaries for 6 months, this time we found an opportunity to increase the salaries of full-time employees by 4.64%. I understand that for people this is a small amount, but on an enterprise scale it is about UAH 350,000 per month. The main thing is that we broke the system that operated in the shipping company - we did not, as usual, wait six months.

In addition, the order signed at the beginning of November 2017 was canceled, providing for the transition of the team from January to part-time working week. In our last conversation with you, I said that I was afraid not of large expenses, but of small incomes. We conducted a detailed analysis of the company's financial condition and identified several sources of savings - we transferred the stadium and the former court to the communal ownership of the city, we save on energy resources, and revised the procurement system. All this gives a financial opportunity not to go against the collective agreement.

- In our recent conversation, you noted that in the near future the company's management will present a large fleet renewal program and cargo base development. Can you elaborate on this?

- UDP today has a sufficient amount of self-propelled fleet to provide the calculated cargo base with traction, but it is significantly worn out and needs to be updated. Besides, average age both self-propelled and non-self-propelled fleets have an extremely negative impact on the economic efficiency of the operation of the river fleet, since old vessels require high maintenance and repair costs, are equipped with uneconomical engines and diesel generators, and are not fully adapted to modern requirements shipping.

Taking into account the fact that the construction of a new pusher tug with a capacity of 2-3 thousand hp. will cost 3-5 million US dollars, this is inappropriate. Therefore, in order to update the fleet and increase the efficiency of its operation, the path of modernizing river tugs was chosen by replacing the main ship equipment - power plants, diesel generators, etc.

At the first stage of the modernization, we are planning to replace marine diesel generators on tugboats of the Riga-Ivanovo type. On our order, the Marine Engineering Bureau developed a technical project for such an upgrade. The cost of replacing two diesel generators on one ship with new Weichai CCFJ75-W units will be up to $70,000. Today we are looking for financial institutions that can finance these projects.

The result of the modernization will be an increase in the economic efficiency of the ship's operation (reduction in fuel costs, costs for the operation of diesel generators, an increase in the period of the ship's stay in the operating mode).

Recently, we have begun to explore the possibility of converting ships to liquefied natural gas. Savings in operating costs are achieved due to cheaper fuel, a reduction in the cost of servicing engines, and the absence of additional costs for the exhaust gas purification system.

In 2017, the company resumed the SLG barge construction program by docking 2 donor lighters. There are more than 120 such lighters on the balance sheet of the shipping company, and they are not used in operational activities. The cost of building 1 barge at our own Kiliya Shipyard is 200 thousand US dollars. In 2017, PJSC "UDP" built one barge, construction of another one has begun, and in 2018 it is planned to build four more.

The purification system will be upgraded this year Wastewater on motor ships "Ukraine" and "Moldavia". This is an EU requirement. Delay in resolving this issue may lead to the fact that the further operation of these vessels will become impossible. Repair and procurement schedules for the passenger fleet are maintained.

The cargo base of the river fleet of the shipping company consists of bulk bulk cargo, in particular, in the export direction - iron ore and coal for metallurgical plants, and in the opposite direction - grain from Serbia and Hungary. The Danube freight market is competitive, with a large number of small shipowners and is generally characterized by a lack of long-term contracts and spot traffic.

The possibility of qualitative growth of the cargo base of the shipping company is due to the following reserves:

1. The traditional cargo flow of PJSC "UDP" was the iron ore raw materials of the Poltava GOK, the direction from the port of Izmail to the port of Linz (Austria), which in 2012-2013. accounted for up to 40% of total exports. However, from the II quarter. 2014, the shipping company does not actually participate in the transportation of this cargo flow. In the event of its renewal, it is possible to count on the transportation of up to 300 thousand tons per year.

2. Another traditional cargo flow of the shipping company is iron ore to the Smederevo metallurgical plant (Serbia). Today it is operating at full capacity, and the possibility of expanding production can be traced. It is possible to increase the transportation of both ore cargo and coal in the export direction, as well as the finished products of the plant.

3. The shipping company is working on the transfer of the fleet, which is in operation, under the flag of Slovakia, which will avoid the restrictions of the "third flag" in the ports of Romania. This will enable the shipping company's fleet to participate in transportation from / to the deep-water port of Constanta, which today is one of the main transport hubs in Eastern Europe.

– How many cargoes do you plan to transport this year?

- The volume of cargo transportation by the river fleet of PJSC "UDP" is planned at the level of 2 million 450 thousand tons, including export - 1 million 450 thousand tons, between foreign ports (IIP) + import + transit - 1 million tons. After a long lull in the second half of February, a revival of the grain market was recorded. Now contractual work is underway, several contracts have already been signed for the transportation of grain cargo in MIP.

- Recently it became known that at a working meeting chaired by First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv, a roadmap for infrastructure projects was agreed upon jointly with China. A separate item in it is literally the following: “updating the engines of the fleet, barges and tugs of the UDP”. What are you going to do about it?

- Yes, indeed, the renewal of our fleet is included in the list of joint promising infrastructure projects, however, with an amendment - without sovereign guarantees, which may complicate our cooperation. Everyone knows that the Chinese lend only to state-owned companies and only under government guarantees. If there is no doubt about the first paragraph of the conditions - UDP is a state-owned enterprise, then the amendment “without sovereign guarantees” calls into question the possibility of cooperation. We will be ready to resume negotiations with the Chinese side after a thorough analysis of the technical and economic feasibility of cooperation. At the moment, the shipping company is at the zero point of negotiations. The fact is that the UDP, with the exception of two memorandums of understanding and a letter of gratitude from the Chinese side for visiting China and for choosing CNTIC as a partner, does not contain official documents on the course of negotiations - there are no official proposals from the Chinese side, settlements from our side, protocols of negotiations and meetings, etc. I'm not talking about electronic correspondence between clerks, but about official, properly registered documentation.

While we are talking about the modernization of the fleet without reference to a specific investor. Now we are preparing calculations and documents for attracting a credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We are ready to offer our fleet modernization projects to any serious investor.

- For several years, the UDP has been implementing a personnel rejuvenation program. Do you plan to continue it?

- As such, there is no developed rejuvenation program in the shipping company. The process went on by itself: there were applicants for the position - their candidacies were considered. But purposefully no one was engaged in the search for specialists. Now the program is being developed, moreover, the primary trade union organization will be involved in the process. The most active natural process of personnel rejuvenation takes place on passenger ships. Many guys after the practice remain to work on our ships. We will continue cooperation with Kherson maritime college, whose graduates - electromechanics have proven themselves well. Now we are studying the institute of mentoring in the shipping company. There are not enough navigators in the UDP - we will only welcome professional growth among captains' assistants.

– What are the prospects for passenger navigation in 2018, what innovations are planned within its framework?

– This year, for the first time in many years, all four passenger ships will operate. We will continue cooperation with UDP partners - the German company BigXra. M/V Volga will work part of the navigation with the Austrian charterer Donau Touristic. These are seven-day flights on the Passau-Budapest-Passau and Passau-Vienna-Passau lines. The passengers will be cyclists. As of February 20, BigXra sold 11,611 seats, Donau Touristic - more than 1,200. BigXra still continues to sell tours, so we expect our four cruise ships to carry about 15,000 tourists in 2018. In addition, the Ust-Danube port announces an increase in ship calls of foreign passenger ships more than twice compared to last year, which means that m/v "Evgeny Kosyakov" will provide excursion services to the "zero kilometer" more passengers.

We also want to try this year to organize an all-inclusive cruise on Moldavia for our compatriots from April 13 to April 21 along the Izmail-Vienna route. In eight days, Ukrainian tourists will be able to visit five European capitals. If possible, we will continue this practice next year.

Interviewed by Igor OGNEV

Next year the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company (UDP) will celebrate its 65th anniversary. It has the status of a national carrier and is one of the largest transport companies in Europe, providing over 30% of all transport services on the Danube.

And at the beginning of the year, for the first time in history, strikes on ships took place on it. And judging by the developing situation, the company has a chance to meet the 65th anniversary, but as for the 70th anniversary - how can I tell you ...

Over the past years, the shipping company has repeatedly fallen out of the fire and into the frying pan. The collapse of Yugoslavia and the ensuing war paralyzed traffic on the Danube for years and sharply narrowed the transportation market. Then the bombed-out bridges in Belgrade “slammed” the Danube at the top, and the Ukrainian channel Prorva silted up below, and the Romanians had to pay for the passage of ships through their channel.

The socio-economic and political situation in Ukraine was also not very conducive to problem-free development. Nevertheless, the shipping company lived, fought for markets and, in general, did not lose prospects.

Navigation on the Danube began to truly revive in 2006, when the European Commission announced the launch of a large-scale action program to develop water transport. The Danube also played a significant role there. UDP, having a good position in the market, could well claim a piece of the pie.

It is clear that the average age of the ships would have to compete for it did not cause much optimism, but there were projects both for the construction of new ships and for the repair of the existing fleet.

However, the fight was not for the market. During the last year, the company struggled mainly with itself. In the autumn of 2006, the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine decided to "provide organizational and methodological assistance to the shipping company." To do this, it sent "experts to study and analyze the situation" there. Those arrived with the aim of "preserving the UDP in state ownership, developing the enterprise and updating the fleet, as well as to stabilize financial and economic activities."

When specialists were seen in Izmail, the enterprise was in shock. Of the 13 people, only two had a maritime education and only one had experience in the maritime industry. All the rest were extremely far from maritime transport, and before that they worked in not too maritime Lugansk.

The last jobs of a number of members of the consulting group are the legal adviser of the department for the supply and purchase of products of the State Enterprise Luganskugol, deputy director of LLC Luganskservisstroy, member of the supervisory board of CJSC Luganskspetstekhkomplekt, head of the department of the Lugansk bakery.

As a result, the nickname "Lugansk landing force" was firmly established for those who arrived.

As one of the deputies of the city council noted in a letter, “the level of “knowledge of the subject” of the newly arrived “specialists” shocked the staff of the enterprise ... They basically do not consult, but study with the specialists of the shipping company, given that before arriving here they had not seen any bills of lading , nor disbursement accounts, and cannot distinguish a pusher from a tug.”

Further more. In January 2007, under heavy pressure from above, the experts were urgently hired. Moreover, the head of the group, Oleg Titamir, immediately became the first vice president, and in February - the acting president of the company.

But the long-term head of the enterprise, Pyotr Suvorov, was removed. The ministry claimed that ... for shortcomings in the work.

There is no doubt about Suvorov's competence as a specialist. It was under him that the shipping company was the first in Ukraine to be certified for compliance with ISO 90021994, and then for compliance with ISO 90012000.

And against the background of the actual bankruptcies of a number of shipping companies on the Danube, the shipping company looked very good. True, the question arose - why did they remove it?

However, the ex-minister's habit of trying to shoot almost all the heads of major ports quickly became legendary, and here is such an opportunity to put people closer to him.

The new leadership made a series of high-profile announcements. It turned out that before everything was bad - now everything will be different.

Mr. Titamir said that “the Ministry of Transport has set a task for our team to return efficiency to the state company. And we will accomplish this task... We are accused of having come from Luhansk, "from the fields", now they are directing... Neither I nor my colleagues are offended. But the Luhansk region brought up a very valuable quality in us - the ability to be responsible for our words. It's very tough there.

But here they prefer to play around, take off… I have already talked to many quite definitely. The bottom line is you want to sink, sink, but yourself. We came to pull the company, and we will do it - whether someone likes it or not.

A year in a leadership position is usually enough to start taking responsibility for your words. The results of the new team are depressing. As is clear from the letter of the labor collective in the editorial office addressed to Prime Minister Y. Tymoshenko, in 2007 the UDP received a loss of 40.98 million hryvnias. At the same time, 35 million were given by sea transportation.

The cargo transportation plan was not fulfilled by 18%, while gross income also fell. Impressive efficiency. The enterprise began to quickly lose cargo suppliers not only at sea, but also on the Danube. As a result, almost a million tons of planned cargo was not transported.

At the same time, the company's accounts payable increased by UAH 70 million, having exceeded UAH 120 million at the beginning of 2008. The new managers took loans from Ukrainian banks in the amount of more than 70 million hryvnias, which were used to pay salaries to the shipping company's employees.

Thus, visible well-being was created, instilling hope in people for stabilization processes in the company. But the “pyramid” that had been built collapsed at the end of 2007, when both credit funds and the banks' credibility dried up.

The shipping activity of the UDP simply withered away. At the beginning of this year, less than a third of 92 river vessels were in operation - 27. At the same time, 33 self-propelled vessels are laid up due to the lack of a repair program. The labor collective complained to the prime minister that 20 river vessels were idle due to lack of fuel, six due to lack of crews.

Simple due to the lack of crews, the new leadership can safely attribute this to the UDP has never happened before.

But how beautifully it was said about them a year ago - the "golden fund of the company"! “The fleet is not only and not so much “iron”, but first of all crews, people standing on the bridge and working on decks and in the engine room,” said Mr. Titamir. - And they were forced to work for a beggarly wage. The people on the ships are true patriots of the company, they often work and work on enthusiasm - this cannot but be appreciated.

We try to meet the needs of seafarers, to make life easier for them. So, for example, the currency component of the salary was transferred to card accounts ... we will increase salaries along the river and start increasing the amount of currency payments in exchange for daily allowances by sea, there will be other incentives ... We will continue to keep the crews out of sight. They deserve it.”…

But in practice... As of the beginning of the year, the salaries of employees of OAO UDP were not paid for two months. The debt amounted to more than 15 million hryvnia. Foreign currency (more than 10 million hryvnias) was not paid in exchange for daily allowances for ship crews for September, October, November and December. Happy New Year, golden fund!

According to the trade union committee, “there is an outflow of commanders. Now up to ten ships are laid up, because they have no crews, no one to work. This is a critical situation. If the ship stays in the sludge for half a year, then the ship's mechanisms become unusable, the metal rusts intensively. The ships must work. We have a difficult situation with the bunkering of the fleet, then - demurrage of ships, then the fleet, due to the end of the documents for operation, began to be put into sludge ...

The Presidium of the Central Council of the Trade Union of Maritime Transport Workers has already applied to the Cabinet of Ministers with proposals to stabilize the work of the shipping company.”

32 key employees were dismissed, including the president, vice presidents, directors of departments, heads of services, leading specialists. On the whole, in 2007 the workforce was reduced by about 1,000 workers. Up to a hundred people onshore and seafarers were dismissed monthly.

However, the attitude towards technology is not better. Almost completely stopped the repair of the river and sea fleet. Consequently, the only way remains - to take the ship to the sludge, where it will become completely unusable. This practice has become almost the ideology of the company. Thus, Oleg Titamir told the press today that 30 out of 72 such vessels are waiting for repairs. Hence the question - is it not better to get rid of them immediately, while they are of interest to the owner

Interestingly, if the ships are repaired, they will immediately lose interest for the “investor”.

In addition, the Ministry of Transport, having “strengthened the leadership” of the UDP, practically curtailed funding for the construction of a dry cargo ship for it at the Kiliya Shipyard.

The ship was laid down in 2005, and high hopes were associated with it. Now its readiness is 90%, 32 million hryvnias have been invested in the construction.

However, neither the ministry nor the new management of the enterprise is interested in the project. Those. talk about it a lot, but the results are obvious.

But if delays in the construction of the ship can be blamed on the Kiev authorities, then work with the existing fleet is entirely the merit of the company.

As of the beginning of 2008, almost the entire marine fleet (30 ships) was leased and managed by foreign, mostly offshore companies. By the way, the ship transfer scheme is prepared for the best part of the river fleet of the UDP, as well as the entire passenger fleet.

At the same time, the form of the concluded contracts does not allow the ships to be withdrawn from the charter without hindrance and without financial losses, which in the current situation means for the shipping company a complete loss of control over the marine fleet.

It is also difficult to control real income from the activities of courts under management. According to management, maritime transportation is mostly unprofitable. And this is against the backdrop of the ongoing freight boom in the world.

The information coming from the sailors does not add optimism. So, in the middle of 2007, the management of OAO UDP made an unprecedented decision to reduce the freight rate under the largest export contract - the transportation of iron ore pellets from Izmail to Linz (Austria) for the Fest Alpine plant - by $1.5 per ton. The loss from this one operation alone for the company will be about a million dollars a year. Taking into account the fact that this contract is signed for five years, the damage will amount to several million dollars, which would be enough for the completion of the ship or the deep modernization of several others.

At the same time, preparations were underway for the sale of any movable and immovable property of OAO UDP with a market value of tens of millions of dollars. On this account, negotiations were held with numerous foreign and Ukrainian companies.

In principle, the sale of surplus is a necessary thing, but the methods and results of previous work raise doubts about its effectiveness. Part of the property of OAO UDP was sold at extremely low prices. Indeed, in fact, the property of a company is now being sold, the financial situation of which says that it is bankrupt in five minutes. This does not at all strengthen the position of the shipping company in the negotiations.

Already now, according to the conclusion of KRU specialists, 16 ships are hopelessly lost for the company, and ultimately for the state. But there is still something to sell. These are sea, river or passenger ships, recreation centers; There are also properties abroad.

Recently, the company announced its readiness to "sell a well-known building in Budapest, burdening the balance sheet." There were also quite curious reflections on the possibility of "selling even a part of the shares in the name of one's own salvation."

Nothing reminds you of this Let us remind you that a year ago, effective managers began to save the enterprise from possible bankruptcy.

However, let's rejoice for them for a year of work "became clear one of the reasons for the unprofitability of the shipping company, which consists in the inefficient management of the fleet." Turns out it was taxes. And while they are being paid, "strict tax restrictions do not allow changing the situation in the shortest possible time."

According to Oleg Titamir, “the company should be given tax holidays, that is, a favorable environment should be created to help get out of a difficult situation. According to JSC "UDP" you need to take special decision Cabinet of Ukraine. Otherwise, the company will not survive.” Here comments, as it seems to us, are superfluous.

Although if the leaders think that the Cabinet of Ministers will solve their problems for them, then it may be easier to look for other people

Until 2007, the company worked in the tax field and somehow, albeit not without problems, coped. By mid-February 2008, his work was practically blocked by creditors.

24 river trains, and this is more than 140 ships, are blocked by bunkering companies in the river ports of the Danube without fuel, water and food. Fuel was received at the expense of loans "on a trust basis". I wonder who will pay for the trust

Moreover, there was no communication with a part of the river vessels due to non-payment for the services of mobile operators.

In general, the anniversary of the new leadership turned out to be just exemplary. But the most interesting thing is that there were people in Kyiv who also rated it as acceptable.

Recently, the staff of JSC "UDP" demanded an immediate change in the management of the company, an examination of all existing contracts and loan agreements with the participation of representatives of the KRU and the Ministry of Transport and Communications, law enforcement agencies, the Security Service of Ukraine and the prosecutor's office, the introduction of a moratorium on all agreements concluded by the former management regarding the transfer, alienation and fleet pledge.

And so we waited.

By order of the Minister of Transport and Communications of Ukraine No. 195 dated February 5, 2008, a new head, Viktor Moskalenko, was appointed acting president of UDP OJSC.

By the way, at his presentation, a representative of the ministry explained that the change in the management of the enterprise was due to the fact that Oleg Titamir's team had no way out of the current crisis situation at the UDP. A year ago, he presented them as saviors ...

To be honest, we are not aware of the undoubtedly numerous advantages of the new head of the UDP in the field of organizing maritime transport, but we know that he has higher education- musical.

Perhaps in Kyiv they decided to repeat the experience of the previous management team. The question is not at all idle. The company is certified according to European quality standards. Among other things, this also means a fairly high level of knowledge of the processes by the management.

Viktor Borisovich was introduced to the team as a temporary leader - until a new one was appointed. Well, and his first deputy was ... Yes, yes, you thought right - Oleg Titamir.

How to bring the company out of the crisis, he does not know. But the enterprise still has a lot of things that “burden its balance”.

A year ago, "ZN" wrote that "new personnel appointments in the UDP are news that can shoot later, but it will be too late. If the change of heads of ports ends with the redistribution of financial flows, then the change of leadership of the Danube Shipping Company may end in its collapse. Until now, personnel purges have not touched this sole surviving state shipping company. What happened to the rest, everyone knows the Black Sea and Azov fleets ended up in other people's pockets.

It was just the case when we would gladly be wrong. But so far it doesn't look like it...

From the editor. "ZN" will continue to monitor the situation around the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company and is ready to provide an opportunity to express its point of view to its current leadership.

Dmitry Chaly photo - internet

On November 29, Dmitry Chaly was appointed Acting Chairman of the Board of PJSC “Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company”. The head of the UDP shared with us his first impressions about the shipping company and its immediate plans, writes redaxe.media.

– Dmitry Sergeevich, you have not worked in shipping companies before, how quickly do you master the specifics of the Danube Shipping Company?

- I have considerable experience in senior positions in large state-owned companies, and the issues that managers need to solve are generally the same in them - the economics of the enterprise, the movement of finances, the preparation, approval and execution of the financial plan, planning, contractual work, personnel and work with personnel, labor protection, safety, procurement, employee training, advertising, marketing, anti-corruption measures, cooperation with local authorities, interaction with inspection bodies. Even the issues of computerization, or, as they say, IT support, administrative and economic activities, transport services, building maintenance - they are in general exactly the same. Previously, I worked in the structure of the same ministry, dealt with the same issues as here with the same departments of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, for example, approving the financial plan of an enterprise and making changes to it.

As for shipping - in Odessa seaport, where I worked earlier, there is a towing and technical fleet, and it is this fleet, and not loading and unloading operations, that brings the main income to the port. So I am quite familiar with shipping terminology and issues related to maintenance, repair, docking, bunkering, work of crews on ships, as well as problems related to chartering and fleet management, increasing its efficiency and safety of navigation.

In addition, I have a specialized education - I graduated from the National Transport University with a degree in Organization of Transportation and Transport Management, now I am getting a second higher education at the Odessa National Maritime University. Therefore, there are no secrets for me in the specifics of the shipping company's activities. Moreover, the management of a shipping company is not limited to having broad knowledge in narrow-profile issues, for example, in ship repair - there are appropriate technical specialists for this.

– What are the main problems you see in the work of the Danube Shipping Company?

– Some problems are typical for all Ukrainian enterprises. Unfortunately, the current economic situation in the country is characterized by high unpredictability and a considerable number of factors destabilizing the economy. Almost all companies that operate in our difficult Ukrainian realities, especially state-owned enterprises, have many problems associated not only with achieving high economic performance, but also with the very ability to stay on the market. Therefore, today for all leaders the most urgent problem is to ensure the sustainable development of enterprises, the same applies to the Danube Shipping Company. And the higher the volatility of business conditions, the more enterprises need strategic management and planning, with which it is possible to ensure the survival of the company and achieve the required goals.

Also today in Ukraine for all enterprises the problem of a total shortage of highly qualified personnel is urgent. The shortage of production personnel is especially acute. Welders, turners, mechanics, electricians are leaving en masse abroad. And this despite the fact that the influx of young people into these professions has almost completely stopped, and personnel have not been updated in recent years. For PJSC "UDP" it is especially sensitive in such areas of activity as shipbuilding and ship repair.

As for the specific problems in the activities of the shipping company, they are generally well known. These are the difficult financial condition of the company, the lack of a realistic development strategy, the significant age of the fleet and, in connection with this, its low efficiency, the cost of maintaining non-core assets, etc. I can list for a long time. A few days ago, I asked the heads of structural divisions to present their vision of the main problems of the shipping company and proposals for their solution. The result was a "battle map" - a multi-page register of problematic issues. Further I am going to study these problems in more depth and make decisions on them. I indirectly received information about the ability of our leaders to think systematically and strategically, to prioritize, make forecasts, and take the initiative.

What are your first steps in your new position?

– It took me the first two weeks to get acquainted with the staff of the shipping company, to study the state of affairs. He visited several motor ships, as well as the main structural divisions - the Kiliya Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant, the Training Center of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company, the Fleet Maintenance Base, where he met the captains, the management of enterprises, talked with employees, examined the equipment and material and technical base.

Also this week, he signed an order to centralize procurement. Previously, almost every structural subdivision of the shipping company was independently engaged in purchases. This solution will help strengthen financial discipline, make the procurement process more transparent, ensure control over the use of funds, optimize staffing and relieve the many employees involved in the procedure.

We have already started working on optimization organizational structure company management. Unfortunately, the existing structure is no longer suitable for achieving the goals that the shipping company faces.

In the near future I am going to present a realistic model to the staff of the shipping company innovative development a company that will take into account the current state of the economy and competition, and on the basis of which in the future we will create a strategy for the development of the shipping company, which will describe a system of managerial, organizational and innovative solutions aimed at achieving our goals.

How will you define these goals?

Goals are our priorities and intentions. They are set for a certain period in quantitative terms, for example, the level of income or the number of renovated fleet. The formulation of goals is one of the most important stages of strategic planning. The goals must be approved by the Board of the Shipping Company on the basis of forecasts and a thorough analysis of external and internal factors. After the goals are formulated, in order to achieve them, we will set out the tasks and identify those responsible for their implementation. This whole process, all goals and tasks will be described in strategic plan development of the enterprise, work on which began from the first day of my arrival in the shipping company. This is not a simple document, and it will take more than one month to prepare and approve it.

The development plan of the enterprise will allow us to build the work of the shipping company on a systematic basis, from it it will be clear how many units of the fleet and when to write off, how many to build new ones, in what volumes to carry out renovation and modernization, how much borrowed funds we need - it will describe in detail our action plan for all areas of work.

The presence of such a document is very important for the manager and for the team, as it gives an understanding of where we are moving and what tasks need to be solved. It is very important for employees to know what the shipping company will look like in five and ten years, and if they understand the company's strategy, they will be able to make better everyday decisions.

- Six months ago, an investment project with the Chinese side worth $50 million was announced in PJSC "UDP". Now they stopped talking about him. Will you continue to work on it? And how are you going to solve the issue of updating the fleet?

- We will definitely continue to work on it if this project is beneficial for the enterprise. As far as I know, the project provided for the renewal of the shipping company's fleet - it was said that within 15 years it would be possible to build 40 units of SLG barges and modernize the power plants of 21 river tugs. However, I have not yet seen an investment proposal and a feasibility study for this project, risk assessment, payback periods, etc.

Investment is not a gift. Those who invest in this and any other project want not only to return their investments, but also to profit from them. The investor is primarily interested in the return on investment. However, river navigation is a low-profit business, so the payback period for investments here is best case approaching ten years. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate everything well so that the shipping company does not have to pay off the investor with its assets later.

I think that the amount of renovation we need is in the tens of millions of euros. An order of magnitude higher are the costs of building new vessels for the passenger and cargo river fleet. Today, the shipping company does not have its own funds for investment, so we are forced to consider the possibility of attracting borrowed and borrowed funds. It would be interesting to calculate the Vessel on Credit project, but I think the rates on loans from Ukrainian banks and the long payback periods of our business make such projects impossible.

- What can you say about the new team for you?

- It is immediately noticeable that the relations in the team are constructive, I did not even have to adapt here. This is a team of professionals who do their job on the highest level understand the challenges ahead of them and know how to solve them. Moreover, the knowledge and experience of the shipping company's specialists are unique, because there is no such enterprise in Ukraine.

It is a great honor for me to lead such a team, and I understand my responsibility.

Members of my team, experienced professionals in the field of management, came with me, and it seems to me that they immediately organically joined the shipping company's team and strengthened it.

– Information about your meeting with the Mayor of Izmail appeared on the website of PrJSC “UDP”. What issues did you discuss and how are you going to cooperate in the future?

- It was just an acquaintance, and no specific questions were prepared for this informal meeting. However, in the future we are going to interact very closely with the city authorities. PJSC "UDP" is a budget-forming enterprise and is connected with Izmail by many different threads and relationships - from paying taxes to the local budget and ending with issues of improvement and ecology.

Improvement, the state of urban infrastructure, for example, the quality of roads and the condition of apartment buildings - all this is interconnected and determines the quality of life of our employees, the prestige and convenience of their living in Izmail, opens up the opportunity to attract qualified personnel from other cities.

- Did you like Ishmael?

– Frankly, Ishmael pleasantly surprised me! A clean, well-maintained European city with unique architecture, beautiful urban landscapes and an aura of calm and well-being. You can't call it provincial. It is noticeable that the city authorities pay much attention to the issues of improvement, the state of housing and communal services. But the main advantage of Ishmael is very friendly and open people.

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