The Ukrainian Law No. 1054-IX "On Inland Water Transport" entered into force on 1 January 2022.
The document establishes the legal, economic, and organizational foundations for inland water transport operations in Ukraine, the CFTS portal reports.
In particular, it establishes the conditions for inland water transport operations and the use of inland waterways and their coastal strips for navigation. It regulates the issue of vessels sunk in inland waterways and the liability of ship owners for violation of the legislation on inland water transport.
In addition, the document provides for implementation of the basic requirements of the European Union’s directives and regulations under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
A competitive market for river transportation of goods is expected to begin operation in the country following the entry of this law into force. According to estimates by the Ministry of Infrastructure, the implementation of the law will increase the volume of cargo transportation to 30 million tons per year and have an economic impact of UAH 13-16 billion in the country annually. In addition, an increase in the volume of freight transportation by river will help protect roads from destruction and save government funds on road repairs.
The implementation of this law will facilitate the development of the coastal infrastructure along Ukraine’s rivers, the improvement of the state of the river transport economy, competitive development of the market of inland water transport services, the attraction of investments, and the redirection of cargo flows to rivers, which is ecological and economical.
In addition, among other things, the document bans vessels flying the Russian flag from entering Ukraine’s inland waterways.
"The following are prohibited from entering Ukraine’s inland waterways: vessels flying the flag of the aggressor state; vessels belonging to citizens of the aggressor state or business entities registered on the territory of the aggressor state or belonging to individuals and legal entities against whom special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) have been imposed in accordance with the Law of Ukraine on Sanctions," the law states.
In addition, such vessels are prohibited from transporting passengers and cargo, as well as from entering Ukrainian ports. The registration of Russian vessels in Ukraine’s State Register of Vessels is also prohibited.
The parliament adopted this document on December 3, 2020, and the president of Ukraine signed it on December 30, 2020.
