You're reading: Ukrinterenergo: First vessel with coal from South Africa to come to Ukraine in middle of October

A first vessel with coal from South Africa will dock in Ukraine on Oct. 15-19, Director of Ukrinterenergo state enterprise Volodymyr Zinevych told reporters in Kyiv on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

‘We expect that tentatively on October 15-19 the first three vessels will arrive. We’ll have to switch to the DDP price so that the seller pays for the delivery to station. This will be more expensive due to the value added tax, but we don’t have any other options,’ he said.

Zinevych said that the first vessel would deliver around 85,000 tonnes of coal from South Africa to Ukraine.

He said that the purchase of coal would be financed using credit lines opened by the company, as well as own working capital and the funds of end buyers of coal.

‘The financing scheme is working normally. The main thing is that the U.S. dollar does not grow. Of course, this strongly influences the price of products,’ he said.

As reported, Ukrinterenergo buys about one million tonnes from South Africa.

According to Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Prodan, the price of coal imported from South Africa for the needs of state-run power generating company Centrenergo is $91 per tonne at the Ukrainian port.

Prodan said that a batch of coal on the first vessel will be some 87,000 tonnes, and monthly supplies under the contract with South Africa are expected at some 250,000 tonnes.

In August 2014, coal production in Ukraine in connection with the fighting in Donbas halved (by 3.370 million tonnes) compared to August of 2013, to 3.492 million tonnes. The problem remains in the delivery of coal to thermal power stations because of the destruction of railway track.