Vladimir Putin has ordered his prime minister to create a shipbuilding plan for the next decade within two months, after one of his officials lamented how western sanctions had hampered a large civic fleet from being built.
Western-led sanctions imposed since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine have included cutting the supply of foreign technology crucial for Russia's military as well as its industry and manufacturing sectors.
Head of Russia's Fisheries Agency, Ilya Shestakov, told Putin last week that only 22 out 105 fishing vessels planned in a state program had been built so far because sanctions had choked the supply of "actively used" western technologies.
The Central Research Institute "Kurs", said that 84 percent of Russian ships under construction at the end of last year might not be delivered and 28 out of 49 vessels scheduled for delivery in the coming year needed redesigning, Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported.
While an order published on the Kremlin website on April 10 does not directly mention western sanctions, it says a plan must ensure the financial and technical competitiveness of vessels built at Russian shipyards, "including measures to ensure the development and production of the most significant ship components."
The plan must pay special attention to the construction of ships that "export deliveries of Russian products" until 2035.
Putin has also ordered "the development of production capacities of organizations engaged in the construction and repair of ships," and a way to fund this via preferential interest rates on loans and money from Russia's National Welfare Fund (NWF).
Putin has since charged his prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin and his officials to create the plan by June 15. The decree made no direct mention of vessels intended for his invasion of Ukraine, following a series of Ukrainian strikes on the Black Sea Fleet which has declawed Moscow's naval capabilities.
Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.
Russia's shipbuilding industry and seagoing capabilities have been hit by other setbacks in recent months. In December, Russian media reported that the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg shipyard, which builds vessels for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, has faced a decrease in production and funding.
Western sanctions have forced the company to look for alternative equipment suppliers and redesign orders for two fishing trawlers.
Meanwhile U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil sales, have spooked western buyers of the country's biggest export.
A price cap banning firms from insuring, financing, and shipping Russian seaborne oil exports sold above $60 a barrel has resulted in Moscow turning towards a "shadow fleet" of ships.
However, transport of the oil has been beset by payment disagreements, putting off buyers. In January, Reuters reported that tankers with 10 million barrels of Russian oil were stranded off the coast of South Korea.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
