The Panamanian cargo ship Algrace anchors on the Danube River near the port of Izmail, Odesa Oblast, Ukraine, on July 27, 2023, with anti-tank defenses visible on the riverbanks. (Stringer / AFP / Getty Images)Leaked internal documents obtained by the Kyiv Independent suggest one of Ukraine's largest state-owned shipping companies is being run into the ground and may be under the influence of external interests — offering a rare look at the governance failures that continue to plague the country's state-owned enterprises.In early May, the chairman of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company's (UDP) supervisory board sent a lengthy letter to Ukraine's parliament. In it, he sounds the alarm over a severe decline in activity at the company, attributing it to "corruption that has plagued the company's assets for decades." The chairman also says in the letter that the board's efforts to clean up the company have come up against fierce opposition. A separate document obtained by the Kyiv Independent details an internal investigation alleging another supervisory board member had created "significant corruption risks." The investigation, however, was launched four days after the chairman’s letter was sent, despite examining events from six months earlier. The delay, along with inconclusive findings, raises questions about why the company didn't investigate the matter sooner, and its overall decision-making.Headquartered in southwestern Ukraine at the mouth of the Danube River, UDP transports cargo and carries out shipbuilding and repair. The Danube River became a critical export corridor for Ukrainian grain and iron ore in 2022 after Russia’s months-long blockade of the Black Sea at the start of the full-scale invasion.Barges are loaded with grain at the Reni river port on the Danube River in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine, on July 21, 2022. (Sergii Kharchenko / NurPhoto / Getty Images)It is unclear from the documents who might be seeking to disrupt the company's normal operations or to what end. But UDP's declining market share despite its strategic importance underscores the long-standing governance problems at Ukraine's nearly 3,000 state-owned companies, which reformers and Kyiv's international partners have repeatedly argued should be corporatized or privatized to curb political interference and corruption.Alongside its deteriorating financial performance, the company’s lucrative assets, including vessels and real estate abroad, have been preyed upon before, according to the letter and court cases — following a similar pattern seen at other Ukrainian state-owned enterprises.In response to the allegations, Ukraine's parliament has said it will react. A letter dated June 4 sent by parliament's transportation and infrastructure committee to UDP's director, Volodymyr Tostohan, that was provided to the Kyiv Independent upon request, notes the chairman's concerns. It describes the situation at the company "of significant current concern (that) "undoubtedly requires a hearing and detailed review."The letter to Ukraine’s parliament that sounded the alarmIn an explosive letter to Ukraine's parliament obtained by the Kyiv Independent, dated May 6, Benoit Pleska — chair of UDP's supervisory board — paints a damning picture of the company's decline: collapsing activity and market share since 2020, "huge resistance" against the board's cleanup efforts, chronic corruption, and the systematic destruction of company assets.Pleska ends the letter by calling for a parliamentary investigation into illegal activity at the firm. The board, which was appointed in August 2025, includes three independent appointees, including Pleska, and two state-appointed members. Independent members are selected through a competitive, merit-based process, often resulting in foreign professionals being chosen to sit on boards.Citing statistics of the company's collapse at length throughout the letter, Pleska says that actions taken "(point to) structural managerial failure, governance failure, destruction of economic value, and decisions potentially contrary to the strategic interests of the state."Benoit Pleska, chair of UDP's supervisory board, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 13, 2026. (Omar Havana / Getty Images)For example, while Ukraine's state-owned Izmail port on the Danube recorded extraordinary growth of 314% in freight volumes from 2020 to 2024, UDP’s freight volumes increased by 2.1% — resulting in their market share within a core port for the company collapsing from 18% in 2020 to almost 4% in 2024.Pleska says the supervisory board began work in "extremely difficult financial and operational conditions."Data from Ukrainian open-source intelligence company, YouControl, shows sharply deteriorating financial performance in 2024 and 2025. The company made losses of over $7 million dollars in 2025.