The Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) will transfer its two sea ferries to the State Property Fund of Ukraine.
A transport market expert disclosed this to the CFTS portal. Ukrzaliznytsia confirmed this information in response to questions from the CFTS portal.
"The process of transferring control of the ‘Heroes of Plevna’ and ‘Heroes of Shipka’ steamships, along with the equipment and components necessary for their operation, to the State Property Fund of Ukraine is currently underway," Ukrzaliznytsia said.
The company added that it is currently waiting for the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to issue the relevant directive.
As reported previously, Ukrzaliznytsia took over the ferries 'Heroes of Plevna' and 'Heroes of Shipka' at the end of 2015. Before that, the two ferries were leased from the state by the Ukrferry company.
This marked the beginning of a long saga concerning the repair and possible use of the ferries by Ukrzaliznytsia. In particular, it was expected that the vessels would be able to provide transportation services on the Chornomorsk-Poti/Batumi line within the framework of the Trans-Caspian route. Among the options considered was the possibility of transferring the ferries to another company under a bareboat charter agreement. Ultimately, in 2019, Ukrzaliznytsia requested that the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure consider transferring both vessels to another operator, as the management of ferries is not part of the company's core business.
