The Ukrainian Seaports Authority and LLC Odesa Port Operator have signed a memorandum of cooperation on rail dispatching operations. The document was signed on May 31 at Ukrainian Ports Forum 2018.
The Ukrainian Seaports Authority’s head Raivis Veckagans signed the memorandum on behalf of the port authority and Yurii Hubankov signed it on behalf of LLC Odesa Port Operator, the CFTS portal reports.
The memorandum is expected to facilitate implementation of investment projects aimed at developing the public railway infrastructure at the Odesa seaport, as well as other investment projects aimed at developing the Odesa seaport. In particular, the updated “Strategy for Development of Seaports in Ukraine until 2038,” which the Ukrainian Seaports Authority drafted jointly with the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure, provides for elimination of railway infrastructure bottlenecks at port stations.
The aim of the memorandum is to optimize railway operations on the territory of the Odesa seaport, introduce modern management systems to accelerate the filing of applications, track the status of electronic bills of lading, and allow quick viewing of the history of movement of wagons through the port and all associated documents.
"The businesses operating in the Odesa seaport supported the initiative on train dispatching railway operations and development of the Odesa port, which is stipulated in the signed memorandum. The issue of quick processing of wagons at the Odesa Port train station during the peak summer months is especially urgent. Our agreement will facilitate expansion of the Odesa Port train station’s wagon fleet and increase the capacity of the Odesa Port station by 198 wagons," Veckagans said.
The Odesa seaport authority will be relieved of the obligations to perform train dispatching operations and the associated additional costs.
In addition, the memorandum aims to prevent increase of the tariffs for the services of the Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) involving delivery of wagons to the territory of the Odesa seaport and their removal.
As reported, experts from Deutsche Bahn worked at the Odesa seaport during the period of February-March. The port authority plans to solve the problem of bottlenecks at the Odesa-Port railway station with the help of consultations provided by the experts.
