A project of the International Transport Forum (ITF) that aims to develop sustainable and resilient transport pathways for the recovery of Ukraine’s waterborne transport sector.
Ivan Savchuk (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales / Géographie-cités, France) contributed to the recommendations submitted to the Government of Ukraine in preparation for post-war reconstruction.
The war has brought about significant socio-economic challenges for Ukraine’s waterborne transport sector. Challenges include labour shortages, severed trade links and reduced connectivity, infrastructure damage and a decrease in transport investments due to defence spending. These issues come in addition to long-standing challenges characterising Ukraine’s waterborne transport sector, notably a lack of transparency in customs processes, fragmented governance structures at ports and a chronic underinvestment in the development and modernisation of infrastructure, among others.
Waterborne transport will play an instrumental role in the country’s recovery process. It is essential to connect Ukraine to its trading partners, facilitating cargo and passenger movements and enabling the flow of materials and equipment needed for reconstruction. On the positive side, the war has accelerated support – both internally and externally – for Ukraine’s integration into the EU and has catalysed international funding for the reconstruction of transport infrastructure.
Against this backdrop, this ITF project assesses the significance and current condition of Ukraine’s waterborne transport infrastructure, vehicles, and services, comparing the situation before and after the war.
Drawing on extensive stakeholder interviews and desktop research, the project examines the key challenges – both structural and those brought on by the war – as well as the opportunities in terms of accelerating regulatory and institutional reforms, modernising infrastructure, and fostering alignment with EU regulations and standards. It identifies the fundamental gaps between reality and ambition, based on a comparative assessment of Ukraine’s national aspirations and the state of alignment of its national legislation with EU acquis.
To close these gaps, the ITF developed sustainable and resilient policy and infrastructure pathways for the economic recovery of Ukraine’s waterborne transport sectors, which include both maritime shipping and inland waterways. In collaboration with Ukrainian stakeholders, including the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, a multifaceted approach to project prioritisation was developed and implemented. This approach addresses major issues such as rebuilding and enhancing port infrastructure, new maritime corridors for international shipping, implementing policy and governance reforms, operational measures to reduce emissions and improve resilience, and the uptake of low-carbon technologies and fuels.
Read the final report Waterborne Transport Pathways for Ukraine
This project is part of a larger effort at the ITF to address Ukraine’s long-term needs through targeted research: the Common Interest Group for Ukraine (CIG4U) Research Programme. Several other projects are underway, which seek to develop sustainable pathways for surface freight, passenger transport, and aviation.
Project contact: cig4u@itf-oecd.org
