NIBULON says its shipping company achieved its goal, having transported more than 3.5 million tons of various cargoes by inland waterways in 2018/19 MY. Thus, the volume of cargoes transported by NIBULON’s fleet increased by 40 % compared with previous marketing year.
Since 2009, as of July 1, 2019, NIBULON’s shipping company has transported more than 14.9 million tons of cargoes by inland waterways of Ukraine. Therefore, almost 621,000 trucks were removed from the roads. The company’s modern fleet transports: grain, metal, coal, fertilizers, building materials, Kherson watermelons and melons, as well as bulky cargo.
NIBULON’s floating cranes are also actively working. In 2018/19 MY, they shipped for export more than 2.7 million tons of grain (a 38 % increase compared with 2017/18 MY). Upon putting into operation of the unique NIBULON MAX vessel (140-m long) with two cranes, the annual volumes of cargo transshipment by fleet will increase by 2-3 million tons per year and the volumes of cargo transshipment by NIBULON’s fleet will increase up to 4-5 million tons per year. This vessel will also enable the company to flexibly use the river cargo fleet, being a storage vessel during the absence of foreign-going vessels.
It should be noted that despite the excessive and unjustified tax burden on inland water transport, which is not found in any country in the world and which makes this mode of transport uncompetitive in relation to other modes of transport (rail and road transport), NIBULON continues to increase the volumes of cargo transported by inland waterways.
From 2009 to July 1, 2019, NIBULON paid about UAH 370 million of taxes and dues for the operation of its water transport, including more than UAH 184 million of excise tax on fuel used for water transport, more than UAH 43 million of rental payment for water use, about UAH 27 million of port dues, about UAH 13 million for lockage along the Dnipro Cascade, UAH 2.6 million for radio frequency monitoring and rental payment for the use of radio frequency resource, more than UAH 5 million for the services of the Shipping Register of Ukraine, and UAH 94 million of the unified social tax. Thus, we pay UAH 25 of taxes and dues for every ton of cargo transported by water transport.
The company’s management has repeatedly proposed organizing a discussion of the optimum model for state regulation of the development of inland water transport and inland waterways with the participation of a wide range of both Ukrainian and international experts. This will allow one not only to successfully develop cargo and passenger navigation in Ukraine, but also to revive domestic shipbuilding and to give impetus to the development of other sectors of the economy.