The text below reflects expert vision that may not coincide with the position of the editorial board 

Back in May 2024, Denis Manturov, then head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and now First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, informed State Duma deputies that domestic shipyards aimed to deliver "over 110" vessels by the end of the year.  

However, in 2023, of the 108 vessels commissioned, the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) accounted for less than a quarter (25 ships), primarily small and medium-tonnage vessels. As for large-tonnage ships, only two Aframax-class Ice-1A tankers with a deadweight of 114,000 tons each were delivered, built at the Zvezda shipyard in the Far East, which is not part of USC.  

A closer look at the records from 2023 and the plans for 2024 reveals that achievements are largely concentrated in the small and even micro-tonnage segments. According to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the overall picture of shipyard accomplishments in recent years appears far less impressive.  

The key contributors to these figures include:  

- Cherepovets Shipyard LLC: five non-self-propelled barges and one push tug;  

- Samus Shipbuilding and Repair Plant LLC: four non-self-propelled barges;  

- Middle Nevsky Shipyard JSC: three passenger excursion catamarans;  

- Oka Shipyard JSC: two bilge water collectors and one crab boat;  

- Empirium Shipyard: three passenger electric vessels.  

Unlike previous years, in the first eight months of 2024, Russian shipyards have failed to deliver long-awaited oil tankers, chemical carriers, container ships, or even mixed cargo "river-sea" vessels, whose serial production was mastered in prior years. It is also unlikely that new cargo-passenger ferries, icebreakers, or research vessels will be delivered by the end of the year.  

Although the steady production of passenger vessels remains strong, progress is currently limited to small and very small vessels, primarily targeting tourist services and, to a lesser extent, local transport lines.  

On a positive note, the program for building fishing vessels and crab boats under investment quotas has finally gained momentum. By the end of 2024, the fishing fleet is expected to see substantial growth, positively impacting both catch volumes and domestic seafood prices.  

The production of domestic dredgers is also growing, albeit with modest power by global standards. This provides hope that the sudden exodus of major Western operators from the Russian market will not lead to prolonged freezes of new transport projects, particularly on key routes like the North-South Transport Corridor and the Northern Sea Route, which require significant dredging efforts.  

Uncertain Future for LNG Tankers and Large-Tonnage Vessels.

The prospects for commissioning ice-class Arc7 LNG tankers for the Arctic LNG-2 project remain unclear. While five vessels—Alexei Kosygin, Pyotr Stolypin, Sergey Witte, Konstantin Posyet, and Viktor Chernomyrdin — have been launched at the Zvezda shipyard, only one or two are expected to be delivered to customers by the end of the year.  

The fate of the remaining tankers is uncertain due to the manufacturer’s heavy reliance on imported equipment and components.  

“Tanker production of all types (LNG, oil, and product carriers) at Zvezda continues to face objective challenges, resulting in sluggish progress. This has already led to some ship operators turning to foreign shipyards, particularly in China, with India emerging as another potential option,” experts note.  

From January to August 2024, Chinese shipyards delivered four vessels to Russian customers:  

- The bulk carrier Julia V (TaizhouTai Marine);  

- The container ship Captain Maslov (Zhoushan Changhong);  

- The fishing vessel Svyatoslav Kalyuzhin (Dalian Dongyuan);  

- The tug-push boat Badzhal (Jia Mu Si).  

While these four vessels account for only about 8% of Russia's fleet expansion by number, they represent a significantly larger share in terms of tonnage.  

For example, the Captain Maslov container ship, with a length of 172 meters and a deadweight of 31,400 tons, can carry 2,471 twenty-foot containers. It is the sixth vessel of its kind built in China for Russian company FESCO, following five others already operating on Far Eastern routes. These ships contribute to recovering container turnover in Russian ports, which has been struggling since 2021.  

Will Russian exporters increasingly turn to foreign shipyards for large-tonnage vessels? The market seems to be pushing in this direction as domestic shipbuilders struggle to meet their promises of developing this critical segment.

Source: Morvesti

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