Professionalism and real achievements are the main criteria. Nomination in the rating is a real acknowledgement among colleagues in the marine sector. Thus, this year’s choice is no surprise. NIBULON’s General Director, Hero of Ukraine Oleksiy Vadaturskyy has won the “Person of the Year” category for the third time.    “In 2018, I won the “Person of the Year on Water Transport” category, and the event organizers mentioned it was a unique case for Ukraine, that a person who was mostly engaged in agrarian business became an absolute leader on water transport. During an award ceremony, I said that I had set a high bar for the future winners, and I would be happy if the next winners set a higher bar”, recollects Oleksiy Vadaturskyy. “Time passed and I have now won for the third time. I appreciate this very much. What do I feel? I am proud of my company and my team. Unfortunately, neither the relevant authorities nor the People’s Deputies use NIBULON’s experience to implement improvements in water transport in Ukraine.  The water transport system is outdated, and nobody tries to change it. I am going to fight for the revival of this sector in Ukraine. I will stand for the Ukrainian flag, the building of the Ukrainian fleet, and the creation of a new modern logistics infrastructure. I will set a higher bar. Ukraine must become a marine country rather than a seaside state”, stresses NIBULON’s General Director. The experts recognized O.Vadaturskyy’s contribution to the development of inland waterways, shipbuilding, as well as cargo transportation along the Dnipro River. They also mentioned his achievements in “the river transportation volumes, export sale of grain crops, the development of shipbuilding and the Dnipro coastal grain infrastructure, as well as the efficient fleet construction. He was named “the only businessman who is trying to develop the sea and river transportation as well as to construct vessels in the Ukrainian shipyards”.  According to one of the experts, NIBULON has entered the TOP-5 innovators in the agrarian sector, having created a network of 27 modern transshipment terminals and complexes for grain and oilseeds receipt, storage, and shipment. It is  Ukraine’s largest terminal network with a simultaneous storage capacity of 2.1 million tons. In 2019, NIBULON put into operation the largest 140-m NIBULON MAX “river-sea” class crane vessel.  Oleksiy Vadaturskyy shared this nomination with the President of the Association of Maritime Agencies of Ukraine Shota Khajishvili. Traditionally, NIBULON is an absolute leader under the “Fleet Renewal” category. The company received an award for the construction of the NIBULON MAX 140-m floating vessel, the largest one in the history of Ukraine’s independence, built at NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard.  Among the river transport achievements in 2019, the experts also mentioned NIBULON’s  high-capacity transshipment terminal for grain and oilseeds shipments which was put into operation in Ternivka village (Vilniansk district, Zaporizhzhia region) and also the construction commencement of NIBULON’s transshipment terminal in Marianske village (Apostolove district, Dnipropetrovsk region).We would remind you that NIBULON and Oleksiy Vadaturskyy became prize-winners of the National Maritime Rating of Ukraine under the categories, such as “Person of the Year on Water Transport”, “Growth Rate”, “Absolute Growth”, “Fleet Renewal”, and “Golden Berth”.NIBULON is a unique case of an agrarian company reviving river navigation and shipbuilding in the country. The company has already invested more than USD 2.2 billion in Ukraine’s economy. NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard is an up-to-date Ukrainian shipyard providing workplaces to almost every fifth shipbuilder in the country. The company has built and continues to build the best Ukrainian fleet using Ukrainian metal, which numbers 78 vessels. The vessels fly the flag of Ukraine. 600 Ukrainians work there, receiving wages and paying taxes in Ukraine.  During the past years, Oleksiy Vadaturskyy has been fighting hard for the development of the Ukrainian shipbuilding and navigation which are the important sectors for Ukraine’s economy. In one of his last Facebook posts, O.Vadaturskyy stated that Ukraine is currently a seaside state rather than a marine country that was caused by the inactivity of officials. We do not have an appropriate naval fleet, although we have the largest coastal area in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The officials speak much about a river fleet, but we don’t see any real actions proving their words.  Long-term incompetent politics has destroyed shipbuilding. 31 shipyards do not operate; 140 thousand shipbuilders are jobless. The relevant sectors of the economy have been destroyed. Is it fair? No, it is not.”  According to NIBULON’s General Director, one of the main reasons for destroying shipbuilding and navigation is the absence of fair and honest legislation in the inland water transport sector. “Consequently, I am criticizing the draft law “On Inland Water Transport” No.1182-1-d rewritten from the previous draft law. I am again unreasonably blamed for allegedly monopolizing the river. I am for equal competitive conditions for everyone. I am against benefits, environmental lawlessness, and environmental disasters on the Ukrainian rivers. I am not going to cause damage to the state. I want people to respect the flag of Ukraine and Ukrainian things with deeds rather than just words”.In connection with the spread of COVID-19, Oleksiy Vadaturskyy has been devoting his time to assist the medical sector in Ukraine. He is sure that it is important to implement multiple projects. Consequently, he has initiated the creation of an additional up-to-date laboratory center in Mykolaiv to carry out the presence/absence of coronavirus by polymerase chain reaction method. The company has started to patronize Mykolaiv Regional Infectious Hospital so that every thick person may receive an appropriate medical treatment and doctors may have safe working conditions. Ukraine must become a marine state, and Ukrainians must be a healthy nation.