NIKOLAYEV, a seaport of the Ukrainian S.S.R., situated a little above the confluence of the Ingul and Bug rivers, at the head of the Bug estuary in 46° 58' N., 35° 58' E. Pop. 141,400. Vessels have to pass the bar of the Dnieper to reach the Ochakov channel, and dredging has been carried out to a depth of 25 ft., so that vessels of 24 ft. draught can pass without lightening their loads. Two icebreakers are now working so as to keep the estuary of the Dnieper and the channel of the Bug open for navigation from the Black sea to Nikolayev all the year round. There is a government commercial quay and a harbour for coasting vessels. The Varvarovka jetty was damaged during the civil war and is not at present open. A new quay, three quarters of a mile long is under construction (1928). There are floating elevators and a railway grain elevator. The chief imports are cement, iron, steel, machinery and general merchan dise, and the exports are grains, oilseeds, sugar, wool, iron-ore, manganese and timber.
In common with other Black sea ports, Nikolayev has suffered from the effects of the civil war and the war of intervention and from the decrease in Black sea trade due partly to change of frontiers and partly to war damage and loss of ships and the cessation of repairs and construction until 1923. The town has
ship yards where steamers for the admiralty and for the com mercial fleet are built, the construction of armoured ships and torpedo boats dating back to 1870, and being carried out mainly along the bank of the Ingul river. Ochakov and Kimburn- are potential forts to protect the double estuary in case of attack. The industrial enterprises of Nikolayev include the manufacture of machinery, ploughs, nails, glass, footwear, macaroni, tobacco and alcoholic drinks. The town is linked by rail with the general railway net to the north, and also has a branch to Kherson.
The remains of the Greek colony Olbia have been discovered close to the confluence of the Ingul with the Bug, io m. S. of Nikolayev. After the fall of Ochakov, Prince Potemkin estab lished (1789) a wharf on the Ingul which received the name of Nikolayev.