In May 2024, the state enterprise, Ukrainian of Sea Ports Authority (USPA) received a pilot boat from the USAID Economic Resilience Activity (ERA) to strengthen the export capacity of seaports, by transporting maritime pilots between land and inbound/outbound ships, impacting logistical efficiency of cargo and export processing.
Since July 17, the Ukrainian flag raising ceremony symbolized placing the Hennadii Zhuravkov pilot boat into service, delivering pilots to facilitate commercial shipping on the river and sea ports. During the three months of active use (July-September), the team on Hennadii Zhuravkov, delivered pilots to more than 400 jobs, accounting for 20% of all pilot services.
On board Hennadii Zhuravkov there are usually two people, a captain and a sailor, working an 11-hour shift, and it generally takes 1 hour 7 minutes to complete one pilot delivery operation. This is 33% faster than on previous pilot boats that took 1 hour 40 minutes. In total Hennadii Zhuravkov processed 417 vessels, 57 in July, 203 in August, and 157 in September.
“Most of the ships where we delivered pilots by boat, are dry cargo ships that mainly transport grain cargo for export from Ukraine, as well as construction materials and livestock,” says Oleksandr Holodnytskyi, Head of the Delta-Lotsman branch of USPA. “The new pilot boat ensures uninterrupted operations in the seaport, which is very important for the Ukrainian economy during the war. This has a positive effect on the growth of the seaport’s logistical capabilities, avoiding delays in the pilot service work, and increasing the port’s potential daily throughput capacity. It was with clear and convincing calculations that USAID ERA provided us with such a valuable pilot boat built for our needs, and we are grateful for that!”
Recently, the second pilot boat USAID is building for USPA, named Pilot Cheberiakov, successfully completed sea trials. In total, USPA will receive three pilot boats to further strengthen the export capacity of the Ukrainian economy on the Danube and Black Sea ports.
Background: Assistance to agricultural producers and infrastructure companies is part of the Agriculture Resilience Initiative (AGRI) – Ukraine, implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It aims to help Ukraine increase its capacity to produce, store, transport, and export grain.