The UDP fleet performs river transportation throughout the entire navigable part of the Danube river from Ukrainian ports and the port of Constanta (Romania) to the port of Kelheim (Germany) and in the opposite direction.

Range of cargoes: iron ore raw materials; coal and coke; grain cargoes; metals and general cargoes; fertilizers; 3 category petroleum products; cargoes in containers; machinery and equipment; oversized and heavy cargoes.

UDP offers its clients not only transportation by barge convoys, but integrated logistics solutions which include, e.g., loading at the point of departure, board-board loading onto large sea vessels and other services.

The bulk of the cargo flow consist of:

– export of grain from the Ukrainian ports on the Danube to Constanta,

– transportation of iron ore raw materials from Ukrainian ports to Serbia and transportation of grain in the opposite direction to Constanta.

24 pusher tugs and self-propelled dry cargo vessels, as well as more than 200 units of non-self-propelled fleet, are in operation in 2023. A standard convoy consists of a pusher tug and six barges or a self-propelled dry cargo vessel and five barges. The weight of cargo in pushed convoys reaches 13000 tons when moving upstream and 7000-85000 tons when moving downstream.

All of the UDP’s sea vessels have been equipped with a monitoring system which allows to control the vessel’s movements, fuel consumption and engine operation parameters online from the control centre in Izmail.

The company works directly with the cargo owners, without the involvement of any intermediary brokerage structures.

UDP sea fleet includes six vessels of the “Izmail” type built on the order of UDP by the Viana do Castelo shipyard (Portugal).

“Izmail” type – universal dry cargo vessels used for transportation of general cargoes, various bulk cargoes, grain and containers. The vessels were built with consideration of the Danube specifics. Due to their small draught they can enter the Danube ports, which makes them convenient for river to sea transportations which are in demand today.

Main characteristics of the ships of this series:

Ship length 88.15 m, width 15.50 m, side height 7.10 m, summer load line draught 5.67 m, displacement 5742 tons, speed 12 knots.

In autumn 2022 the UDP stevedoring complex in Kilia began operation.

Grain transshipment helps to ensure stable operation of the company’s fleet. This also allows to utilize the unused territory of the production sites more effectively.

Due to the creation of the transshipment complex, UDP can offer its clients and integrated logistics service, including transshipment in a Ukrainian port, river transportation by UDP fleet and board-board transshipment to sea vessel in the port of Constanta at a market rate.

In summer 2023 the complex reached a capacity of 50 thousand tons of grain per month.

The complex provides the maximum service: automatic sampling, a laboratory  at the territory of the complex, mechanised unloading drop-side trucks, a warehouse equipped with a mechanized transshipment system.

The complex was upgraded in autumn 2023.

The pier is equipped with a truck unloader which moves the truck’s load directly into the receiving hopper. Moving the cargo from trucks to the barge hold is fully automated due to the line connected to the main technological line.

One more grain warehouse has been built. In order to increase the cargo acceptance volume, one more scale has been installed at the exit for weighing empty trucks. We are planning to make the entrance gate bigger.

We’re also considering the possibility of installing one more technological line for simultaneous loading of two barges.

Our further goal is to work with various types of cargoes: metal, mineral fertilizers, construction materials, etc.

In 2023, for the first time over a long period, UDP resumed construction of non-self-propelled fleet at the Kilia Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Factory.

In October 2023 the first barge of this type, the SLG-023, was launched.

The SLG barge length is 76.5 m, draught is 3.1 m, load capacity is 2200 tons.

A new vessel is built of unused lighters by conversion (connecting two lighters with an insert cut from the third lighter).

We are planning to convert all of the lighters in satisfactory technical condition into barges in the next 2-3 years. UDP will receive 5-6 more barge convoys.

Advantages of the construction of such barges:

– the cost of construction, which is significantly lower than the cost of construction of a new vessel,

– a higher load capacity, which allows to transport larger volumes of certain types of cargoes,

– the conversion is performed at our own manufacturing facilities.

History of building of SLG barges

First lighter-based barges of the UDP SL projects (18 units) were built in 1998-2000. The project was developed jointly by the Kilia Factory and the Marine Engineering Bureau.

In 2001 – 2005 20 more barges were built in accordance with the improved UDP SLG project, also developed by the KSSRF and the MEB.

Construction was suspended for a long time. 40 more vessels were planned to be built in 2017, but in the end the Kilia Factory only built two barges, SLG-21 and SLG-22, in accordance with the project developed by LLC “Grand Engineering”.