Hefty state support is required tocarry out large-scale fleet modernization with a preferential leasing arrangement being thekey measure
When speaking at the meeting ondeveloping theshipbuilding industry held by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister– Minister ofIndustry andTrade, said that thecapacities oftheshipbuilding plants have tobe upgraded andexpanded considerably toimplement several hundred new projects by2030. The meeting transcript is available on the official website of the Kremlin.
According to the official, inprevious years, money forretooling was allocated solely tothemilitary shipbuilding industry. “Currently, shipyards are assessing thecapital outlays andinvestment needed toimplement civilian orders. Given that their cost-effectiveness is restricted byregulations, we will possibly need budget investment, but we have tofinalise calculations inthis regard,” he said adding that hefty state support is required tocarry out large-scale fleet modernisation. “Apreferential leasing arrangement is thekey measure inthis sense. Today, thearrangement works effectively and, properly speaking, is themain driver oftheavailable orders,” said Denis Manturov.
“We have drafted aprogramme which will be implemented, if we borrow from theNational Welfare Fund at1.5 percent annual interest. We have preliminary coordinated this approach with theFinance Ministry. Currently, theState Transport Leasing Company is specifying theamount offunding involved inbankrolling thedraft programme. It is this pattern alone that will enable us toensure transport connectivity, promote domestic water tourism, anddevelop new international routes andtheNorthern Sea Route transport corridor.
Apart from building new ships, we need totackle repair andmaintenance issues. Following up onyour instructions, Mr President, we worked together with theFinance Ministry andfound away tooffer zero-rate VAT forship repairs, onthecondition that providers sign investment contracts with us andundertake toinvest theprofit they make inupgrades, which infact will pave theway tocreating anew sector. We are now drafting corresponding amendments totheTax Code with our colleagues,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
“Toensure uninterrupted production andtechnological independence, we need verified ship equipment, especially taking into account theneed forreplacement components due toour foreign partners’ refusal tofulfil their obligations, asyou mentioned today. Many shipowners, especially fishing companies, customers oflarge-capacity vessels have burnt their fingers when they preferred toinclude imported components andunits intheir projects even though Russian-made analogues were available atthat time.
We are now forced toredesign many vessels, including projects that are already under construction. Forfishing vessels alone, thechange will involve additional costs ofover 2 billion rubles forall participants.
Shipbuilders are currently checking their remaining projects forcomponents that require changes andadjusting thecost ofredesigning them. This is anobjective reason that will shift delivery deadlines totheright. Inthis regard, toavoid customer penalties imposed onshipyards, we propose toextend theconstruction deadlines bytwo years after agreeing onthefinal cost– asimilar arrangement was made with respect tomajor construction projects. We will prepare thenecessary legislative amendments if you support us.
Asfornew projects, potential customers will be offered astandard range ofvessels forvarious purposes with maximum reliance ondomestic equipment. This way we will streamline serial production, reduce thevessels’ cost, andmost importantly, dampen therisks ofsupply disruption,” said the official.
According to him, “today, theicebreaker fleet is perhaps themost independent segment technologically, andwe will seek toachieve this across theboard. We have defined thecritical positions asregards hardware andunits that have tobe developed intheshort term andput into serial production, including with account taken oftheZvezda shipyard’s large tonnage needs.”
The meeting was followed byspecific instructions– toallocate anadditional 7 billion rubles toproduce Russian equipment forthefishing fleet. TheFinance Ministry has included another 15 billion forthenext two years inthedraft three-year budget.
Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to minimize delays in civil shipbuilding schedules
