The Ministry of Industry and Trade is examining the possibility of creating another Russian centre for large-tonnage shipbuilding to partially meet the growing demand for new heavy-tonnage vessels. This was announced on June 29, 2022 by Boris Kabakov, Director of the Department of Shipbuilding Industry and Marine Engineering of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on the sidelines of the Shipbuilding in the Arctic forum held in Arkhangelsk, according to a report published by porarctic.ru.
In turn, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) is going to establish partnerships with foreign shipyards to solve the same problem and provide the Russian commercial fleet with new large-capacity vessels. According to Alexander Babich, the USC representative, shipbuilding enterprises from Iran, Brazil and India could take part in the international cooperation. In addition, the USC aims at developing the existing shipyards in Russia. One of the possible options is the modernization of the Murmansk shipbuilding facilities.
The need to increase the national commercial fleet is directly related to the development of the Arctic. The growing economic activity beyond the Arctic Circle, the increase in the exports of raw materials and energy carriers, the promotion of coastal trade and international transit navigation on the NSR (Northern Sea Route) are the factors that form new needs for vessels, including the ones with a large cargo carrying capacity.
It should be mentioned that on the sidelines of the SPIEF-2022, CEO of Novatek, one of the key Arctic players in Russia, announced the company’s desire to significantly expand its own fleet of vessels. Currently, most orders in this area are fulfilled by the modern Far Eastern shipyard Zvezda, but its capacities are not sufficient to meet the growing demand. The creation of new shipbuilding centres in Russia, the retrofitting and upgrading of all the existing facilities will further stimulate the industrial development of the country and its northern regions, it will have a multiplicative effect, and the country’s economy will benefit.
