Russian Shipbuilding Gives A Distress Signal
- 18.08.2025, 9:59
The Russian Federation will refuse to build ships for grain transportation.
Russia's three largest grain exporters need more than 60 bulk carriers to renew their fleets, but the cost of building them in Russia is four times higher than in China. For this reason, Rosagroleasing and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) have agreed to place orders for the manufacture of the first ten vessels at Chinese shipyards. This follows from the materials for the meeting on the "dilapidated" fleet held in the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, which were reviewed by Kommersant.
In total, Russian grain exporters need to replace 61 large-capacity vessels: 27 Handysize (deadweight 40 thousand tons) and 34 Supramax (60 thousand tons). According to USC calculations, the construction of bulk carriers at Russian shipyards will cost 13.9 billion rubles for the first vessel and 12.5 billion rubles for subsequent ones for Handysize, and 16.5 billion and 14.6 billion rubles for Supramax respectively. At the same time in China Handesize vessels cost 3.5 billion rubles, and Supramax - 4.2 billion rubles. In turn, according to exporters' estimates, the payback of transportation and competitiveness of Russian grain is achieved at the cost of the vessel up to 5.5 billion rubles and the leasing rate not more than 4-5%.
In addition, as noted in OSK, the construction period of the lead vessels in Russia will be at least two and a half years "subject to the modernization of a number of shipyards, as well as the provision of additional measures of state support for the execution of the order and achievement of the specified price parameters". At the same time, Rosagroleasing has already found a partner in China, which is ready to build the first vessels in a year and a half.
In the framework of the approach agreed between Rosagroleasing and OSK, it is assumed that the first ten bulk carriers will be fully built at Chinese shipyards. But OSK proposed to divide this batch into a solid part of six vessels and an optional part that can be localized. The second batch (51 bulk carriers) can be built in Russia with equipment supply by a foreign shipyard through a Russian intermediary, but on condition of "ensuring a market level of construction price," the Ministry of Agriculture documents say. It is noted that OSK will supervise the construction at the Chinese shipyard, will have the right to familiarize itself with the design and other documentation, as well as the right of technical acceptance of the completed work.