The business component of the Ukrainian Ports Forum 2019 in Odessa has been replenished with a special B2B session, which will be held on the second day of the forum on May 31. The new format involves organizing a series of discussions and meetings between representatives of foreign and Ukrainian companies. «The B2B session will allow the forum participants to move from discussing global trends that affect the development of the port industry in Ukraine and the world to address the business challenges they face, taking into account the information received on the first day. Already about 8 companies have declared their readiness for discussions. These are international corporations, manufacturers of equipment, digital solutions for the port industry and investors» – Head of Organizing Committee of UPF 2019, Head of USPA Raivis Veckagans commented on the addition of the Forum’s program.Within the framework of the special business session, presentations of participating companies will be presented, as well as a series of discussions on the one on one format. Registration for discussions continues on the Forum’s website with the following companies: — TechAgro — Siemens — JCB — Arcelor Mittal — P&O Maritime — MTBS — Cargo X — Reni Sea Port Authority — LLC «Orlovka Ferry Complex» The B2B session can be expanded upon the invitation of representatives of government authorities and international experts in the port industry. Follow the announcements.

The Reni branch of the Ukraine Sea Ports Authority is considering the possibility of attracting investors for the implementation of a public-private partnership project for the creation of a terminal for the reception, accumulation, storage and bunkering of vessels by liquefied natural gas at the seaport of Reni. The project envisages the construction of a LNG terminal and a floating-point for bunkering of vessels in the territory of the so-called «Service bases» of the seaport of Reni. The location in the special economic zone «Reni», the proximity of the Odessa-Bucharest international route, along with the possibility of efficient use of existing assets and related infrastructure, makes the LNG terminal project promising and beneficial both for the state and for a potential private investor. Among the benefits of the project for a private investor is the possibility of obtaining international and European grants, participation in international programs for the construction of LNG terminals in order to reduce the environmental burden on the environment, as well as the inclusion of the Danube ports of Ukraine in the European Transport Network (TEN-T). It is expected that the implementation of the investment project will contribute to the increase in the number of vessels' take-offs into the Reni port and, consequently, to increase revenues from port fees and other services for USPA, as well as revenues to the budgets of different levels (tax payment, concession payment) for the state. In addition, the project will have a significant positive impact on the economic, social and environmental situation in the region by creating new jobs, modernizing the infrastructure and reducing harmful emissions on inland waterways of Ukraine, in particular, on the Danube. It should also be noted that the urgency of the creation of a LNG terminal, among other things, is due to the necessity of equipping stations of bunkering of vessels with LNG in Ukrainian seaports.By 2025, sufficient LNG terminals must be installed in seaports in accordance with Directive 2014/94/EU. Many European countries use liquefied natural gas as fuel for vessels for more than ten years. This has had a positive impact on both the economic efficiency of maritime transport and the environment. Vessels working on liquefied natural gas are still few, but their number is constantly increasing. The project is planned for the period of 2020–2025, the presentation is located on the investment portal of Ukraine Sea Ports Authority investinports.com.

State Enterprise «Ukraine Sea Ports Authority», Ministry of Infrastructure together with the State Property Fund of Ukraine initiates the implementation of private business development projects in the port of Skadovsk. It is a question of restoring the effective use of berths and territories of small ports and port points under conditions of a mutually beneficial berth lease. Right now, the website of the State Property Fund of Ukraine offers five berths for lease in the port of Skadovsk and port point “Khorly”. They can be used for servicing both cargo and passenger vessels. Potential objects of the lease also include land plots of the State Enterprise «Skadovsk Commercial Sea Port», which, in conjunction with the berths of Skadovsk Branch of the State Enterprise «USPA», form perspective areas for the development of the port.   Skadovsk Port has all the prerequisites for the implementation of investment projects by both Ukrainian and foreign companies. The port has a positive experience of cooperation in the field of export-import operations with Turkish partners. In addition, Skadovsk is an active alternative to the closed ports of the temporarily occupied Crimea. The port is located in a region with developed agrarian production and large reserves of high-quality sand. In the past, only the port point “Khorly” of Skadovsk port provided sand trans-shipment in the amount of about 4 million tons per year. The berths of the port are adapted for cargo storage, export-import operations and according to passport characteristics, can receive Ro-Ro type vessels. For example, the backyard of berth No. 1 has warehouse areas of SE «Skadovsk Commercial Sea Port» with the total area of more than 7400 square meters, while the backyard of berth No. 2 has land plots for “import” and “export” vehicles with a total area of more than 25000 square meters. In addition to cargo operations, the Skadovsk port can be used for the development of passenger transportation on the Mykolaiv-Ochakiv-Kinburn-Skadovsk line. The maritime route can be an interesting alternative for long bus or car connections. Also, these directions can be used for the development of tourist routes to Dzharylgatsky National Nature Park and the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. Lease of berths involves attractive lease conditions if the Lessee invests money to repair the berths. Information about the lease of berths of Skadovsk branch of SE “Ukraine Sea Ports Authority” is published on the official website of State Property Fund of Ukraine. Information about lease of berths and other public-private partnership projects can also be found on the invest portal of «USPA» www.investinports.com. The USPA, in its turn, is ready to provide all potential customers who wish to lease berths and related infrastructure objects with comprehensive information about their condition, technical features, the amount of necessary reconstruction and repairs for a fully functional restoration.

According to the results of two months of 2019, Ukrainian ports processed more than 23 million tons of cargo, which exceeds the figures for the similar period of last year by more than 2.5 million tons (or 12.5%). Enablers of such positive dynamics in cargo turnover were products of agroindustrial complex, metallurgical industry, container cargo and fertilizers. Thus, during January-February the volume of transshipment of grain cargo amounted to almost 8.5 million tons, which is 35.5% more than in 2018. Ore handling increased by more than a quarter (+ 25.8%) (4.6 million tons against 3.7 million tons in the first two months of last year). Almost 16% growth was demonstrated by oil — more than 1 million tons have already been transshipped. The growth trend of container cargo handling is stable: + 20.5 thousand TEU as compared to January-February 2018. Before the sowing campaign, there was an increase in imports of chemical and mineral fertilizers, both packaged and bulk. The total volume of their transshipment during the first two months of the year amounted to more than 350 thousand tons, which is more than twice the same indicator of the previous year. Just like in January, the growth of transshipment was primarily due to exports, the volume of which increased by more than 3.2 million tons (+ 21.5%) compared to last year, while imports and transit, on the contrary, decreased by 5% and 24% respectively. According to the results of two months, the absolute leader in the volume of cargo transshipment was the port of Yuzhnyi with 7.36 million tons, which is almost a quarter (+ 24.9%) more than in January-February 2018. Mykolaiv port almost reached the mark 5 million tons. Almost 4 million tons of cargo were processed in Chornomorsk and Odesa ports in two months: 3.99 million tons and 3.97 million tons, respectively. During January-February Ukraine's seaports processed 1726 vessels, which is 6.7% or 124 units less than last year. The leaders with the increase in the number of vessels are the same as in January — Chornomorsk, Olvia and Kherson. The services of water transport in the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk for the first two months were used by 3159 passengers. Favorable weather conditions made it possible to carry out 53 vessels by the Dnipro River from the beginning of the year and transport 78,1 thousand tons of cargoes, mainly cereals — 66,5 thousand tons. The full review of cargo turnover in January-February 2019 with the nomenclature of goods and ports and in comparison with the same period last year can be found here. Passenger information is available at this link. Data on vessel transits and cargo transportation by the Dnipro River can be found here.