By KYIV. May 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The TIS terminal group, the largest stevedoring operator in Ukraine, is appealing in court against the decision of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development (the Ministry of Restoration) to cancel the ability of private companies to receive part of the ship dues in the Pivdenny seaport, the company announced on Facebook on Thursday.
“We intend to go to court in order to appeal the dangerous decision, which for many years will close Ukraine any opportunities to attract foreign investors,” the company said.
In turn, the Ministry of Restoration provided clarifications, motivating its decision by the lack of funding for the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority during the war.
TIS criticized the lack of consultations with business before making such a decision and the fact that it became known from the report of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
“This, by the way, gives us reason to consider the rationale for the lack of funds for USPA fictitious, and the decision (…) was dictated not by the interests of the industry, but by pressure from the security forces,” the company noted.
TIS insists that the abolition of the norms of the order on the splitting of ship dues is unreasonable, illegal and harmful to the strategic sector of the economy.
The company noted that a share of the ship dues was accumulated on the TIS target account to maintain the depths in working order and in a safe condition for navigation.
“Depths were created at our expense – from 1.5 m to 15 m – which opened access to the estuary for large vessels and provided the state with additional $245 million in revenue in the form of port dues,” the TIS added.
