The specialized fleet of Delta-Pilot, the branch of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority, almost doubled dredging in 2018 compared with 2017, to 1.341 million cubic meters. More than a third of this volume (497,300 cubic meters) is the result of the operation of the Meotid dredger in Mariupol and Berdiansk ports of the Sea of Azov. Last year, operational dredging was also carried out in the port of Izmail, on the Kherson marine and Bug-Dnieper-Limansky canals, as well as on the Danube-Black Sea approach canal.
Currently the specialized fleet of the Delta-Pilot branch is undergoing planned preparation for new navigation: the classification and dock repairs are carried out at all ships.
Ship repairs are scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2019 and, upon termination of spawning (June 1–15), they will proceed to the implementation of operational dredging.
As reported, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority announced two tenders for dredging in Berdiansk and Mariupol ports totaling 1.85 million cubic meters and 1.9 million cubic meters. The expected cost of work is UAH 430 million without VAT and UAH 460 million without VAT respectively.
