Nibulon Wants Ukraine to Build Its Own Manned Warships

Ukrainian agribusiness and dry bulk conglomerate Nibulon has lost about 70 percent of its turnover since the start of the Russian invasion, and is burdened by its debts - but it is still pushing ahead with plans for revitalization, including a proposal to construct manned vessels for the Ukrainian Navy. 

Russia captured a large share of the Ukrainian Navy's tonnage in 2014 during the invasion of Crimea, and the last Ukrainian naval vessel of any real size was scuttled to avoid capture in 2022. Nonetheless, Ukraine has opened up a viable shipping corridor in the western Black Sea by driving out Russia's Black Sea Fleet, primarily by using missiles and drone boats.

Ukraine has defended its sea lanes successfully, and continues efforts to combat Russian air-dropped sea mines - but there are exceptions. Nibulon's modern terminal at Mykolaiv remains cut off from the sea by a contested riverine waterway, within range of Russian units. The company was once the largest grain supplier to the World Food Programme, shipping massive quantities of foodstuffs to Africa, but now sends 75 percent of its cargo overland by rail to other markets. 

Nibulon CEO Andriy Vadaturskyy - son of founder Oleksii Vadaturskyy, who was killed by a Russian missile strike on his home in 2022 - wants to build domestically-produced Ukrainian warships to change this equation, using Nibulon's yard in Mykolaiv. In an interview with Kyiv Post, he said that the cost of construction would be more than offset by the extra economic activity from fully opening Ukraine's seaports to commerce. 

"You can calculate how much Ukraine has lost due to the blockade of seaports," he told Kyiv Post. "And wouldn’t it be better to direct a tenth of it to build a fleet that could protect the ports from such things."

Nibulon itself is adapting to the new economic realities of the war. Due to a shortage of personnel, it is modernizing and automating its 22 grain terminals so that it can continue to operate as its head count falls. 

It has also augmented its owned fleet with a partnership with the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company to barge grain from the port of Izmail to Constanta, Romania. This is a vital alternative to the Odesa port complex, which has come under strain from Russian blockade and mining attempts. 

But Vadaturskyy would also like to see an order from the Ukrainian government for new tonnage, either civilian or military. "There is a need, the only question is decisionmaking and financial assistance from abroad," he told Economic Pravda. "Ukraine must have its own modern fleet in order to protect ports and increase economic interests in the Black Sea."