Some 300 ships andunits ofmaritime equipment are currently atvarious stages ofconstruction at63 shipbuilding companies
When speaking at the meeting ondeveloping theshipbuilding industry held by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister– Minister ofIndustry andTrade, said that civilian shipbuilding has been regaining thepositions it lost inthepost-Soviet era andhas been learning tobuild new kinds ofships. According to meeting transcript available on the official website of the Kremlin, Denis Manturov said that capacity utilisation within theshipbuilding sector is quite high.
According to the official, some 300 ships andunits ofmaritime equipment are currently atvarious stages ofconstruction at63 shipbuilding companies. “There are also more than 700 ships ofvarious kinds that state andprivate customers will need until 2035 according toasurvey carried out bytheMinistry ofIndustry andTrade, but not all ofthem have determined their technical parameters orfunding sources, which means that they have yet tobecome firm orders,” emphasized Denis Manturov.
“We are proactive inexpanding our icebreaker fleet, which is atop priority forus. We already commissioned two 60-megawatt icebreakers andwill complete another one this year andtwo more after 2024. Rosatom has confirmed that we will need tobuild two additional serial nuclear icebreakers by2030, aswell asnuclear maintenance ships andfour icebreakers running onorganic fuel,” said Deputy Prime Minister adding that construction of cruise motor ships PKS-180 andPV300, andupgrade theKometa, Meteor andValdai hydrofoils has begun. According to the speaker, this line was supplemented byelectric twin-hull boats with Ecocruiser andEcobus models, which are inhigh demand. We launched theserial production ofcargo vessels forriver-sea navigation andentered thesegment ofhigh-tonnage cargo ships, built attheZvezda shipyard intheFar East, which you have mentioned. This shipyard has already completed thefirst Aframax-class tankers andis building LNG tankers andproduct carrier ships fortheNorthern Sea Route.
TheGovernment has instructed theinterested agencies toclarify all theparameters taking into consideration cargo andpassenger traffic projections. Theprimary purpose here is toget anestimate fortheuse ofbuilding cradles. Theconstruction cycle foraship is quite lengthy, so project costs tend toexceed theinitial projections. Shipbuilding companies have faced this issue many times, especially when signing contracts with fixed prices while theproject is not even ready. This way, inorder todeliver theship, they have togo beyond theinitial budget andcover thedifference from their own pocket.
“Inthis regard, we decided toconduct anaudit oftheaccumulated debt with theFinance Ministry. We will start with USC enterprises, andbased ontheresults, we will formulate proposals fortheir possible subsequent financial recovery,” said Denis Manturov.
“Torule out such situations inthefuture, Iinstructed theUnited Shipbuilding Corporation toavoid concluding any contracts without independent technical andeconomic expert examination. Inthefuture, we expect toconsolidate this principle atthelegislative level forall enterprises inthis industry, both inrelation tostate contracts andprojects developed bycompanies co-owned bythestate. Relevant amendments totheFederal LawOnIndustrial Policyhave been submitted totheState Duma. They have already passed thefirst reading, andwe expect them tobe adopted atthebeginning oftheautumn session,” he added.
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