In September 2019, NIBULON officially put the NIBULON MAX 140-m self-propelled floating vessel into operation, thereby leading to an increase in the export indices and the Ukrainian economy development, NIBULON says in a press release.
During the first year of its operation and despite the coronavirus crisis, the vessel has achieved high results in the agricultural commodity shipment for export – 2.5 million tons. For comparison, before it started operation, the company had involved its three floating cranes simultaneously in handling the same amount of cargoes. It is only the beginning for NIBULON MAX, as, according to the company’s specialists, its technical capabilities enable the company to increase the annual cargo volumes up to 4-5 million tons per year, transshipped by the company’s fleet. The company’s export figures will be increased up to 8 million tons of agricultural commodities annually.
NIBULON MAX operation positively influences the structure on the company’s cargo transportation and navigation development, as the floating vessel considerably improves the entire fleet operation. It can transship and store cargoes in case foreign-going vessels are absent, thereby releasing tugs and barges from making additional cargo trips by Ukrainian rivers. Thus, NIBULON MAX increases cargo transportation by water and removes trucks from highways. From year to year, NIBULON continues to set a record in cargo transportation by inland waterways. In the 2019/20 marketing year, the company’s fleet transported more than 3.8 million tons of various cargoes.
The building of NIBULON MAX has become a historical event for the national shipbuilding development, as it is the longest river-sea crane vessel under Ukraine's flag, built since Ukraine’s independence. NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard, which built this floating vessel, has demonstrated an absolutely new higher level of shipbuilding capacities.
NIBULON MAX is a complicated order conducted by our shipbuilders in a year. The vessel is 150 m in length, 28 meters in breadth. Its draught is 4 meters. It is equipped with the two electro-hydraulic grab cranes (Liebherr-MCCTEC Rostock GmbH) with a maximum lifting capacity of 45 tons each. The cranes’ productivity is 18,000 tons per day. The vessel has two cargo holds with the capacity of 13,400 cubic meters. This enables the vessel to transport grain bulk and general cargoes, as well as to carry out loading and unloading operations either at port or in the open roads in the sea.
The company has been recognized in the Ukrainian contests and ratings for putting NIBULON MAX into operation. In particular, the company won under the “Fleet Renewal” category based on the results of the 13th National Maritime Rating of Ukraine, and the experts of the Association of Shipbuilders of Ukraine (Ukrsudprom) have acknowledged NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard as the best in the TOP-3 shipyards of the country in 2019.