UDP handled a record volume of cargo since the beginning of the war In August

In August 2023, PJSC «Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company» (UDP) transported a record volume of cargo since the beginning of the war – 206 thousand tons. This was announced by the Director General of the UDP Dmitry Moskalenko on your page in Facebook.

The increase in traffic volumes, notes the Director General of UDP, became possible due to:

• efficient fleet management system;
• modernized fleet maintenance system;
• development of the stevedoring business;
• efficient work of the commercial department;
• effective model of cooperation with Romanian partners;
• favorable weather conditions.

“Another repair site has been added, a new motivation system for workers has been introduced. Up to 60 non-self-propelled fleet units are repaired and serviced monthly. Active work is underway to create another complex for transshipment of grain. The side-to-side transfer in Constanta avoids queues at the terminals. The duration of the flight is less than last year, the duration of waiting for unloading in the terminal. In addition, this year the level of water fall on the Danube is relatively insignificant,” he said.

Currently, UDP has almost 200 barges in operation, which is a record figure for the company. In September, it is planned to put into operation 5 more units of non-self-propelled fleet.

The limiting factors for the increase in traffic are the overload of infrastructure in Constanta, the shortage of seafarers and work on the Middle Danube.

“The port infrastructure in Constanta is overloaded, we even moved our tugboat to Romania to deliver barges, but additional anchorages, cranes, etc. are needed. A chronic problem for carriers is the shortage of seafarers. But every day we have more and more new navigators who believe in the prospect of the Danube, study, gain the necessary experience,” Dmitry Moskalenko added.

The problem with work on the Middle Danube was created by the mobilization of the entire fleet to the Lower Danube last year. This year, the company continues to fulfill annual contracts for the transportation of iron ore on Sredny, where the fleet rotation speed is much lower, but the UDP strategy provides for the diversification of flows.

As GMK Center reported earlier, in 2022 UDP handled over more than 1.8 million tons of cargo, the basis of which was grain and steel raw materials. In particular, in 2022, almost 500,000 tons of iron and steel products were transported to the Middle Danube. In total, in the first quarter of 2023, transportation of steel cargo by the UDP fleet amounted to approximately 70,000 tons.