‘The Fishing Industry on the Path to Technological Sovereignty: Renovation of the Fleet and Processing Facilities’ roundtable took place on Day 1 of the Business Programme of the Global Fishery Forum.
The economic sanctions have increased the time required for and cost of fishing fleet construction. The roundtable participants discussed options for minimizing redesign costs, import substitution of shipboard equipment, legislation improvements and introduction of government support measures.
Andrei Mikhalevich, Head of the Economy and Investment Department at the Federal Agency for Fisheries, spoke about the progress in fleet construction: “Of course, we have come up against some challenges – we had to extend the deadline for building our fishing vessels from six to eight years, but it remains at up to five years for crab boats. In addition, a claim-staking procedure for the second investment quota stage has already been announced.”
The Agency’s representative emphasized the need to focus on import substitution in three areas: shipbuilding, ship maintenance and equipment for fish processing (at sea and on shore).
Alexey Nadyrshin, Director of the Civil Shipbuilding Department at United Shipbuilding Corporation, pointed out that the lack of technical documentation was a major issue since customers would usually come with sketches of a new vessel and the design was then jointly developed at the shipbuilding enterprise. Furthermore, it was previously assumed that 90% of the new vessel’s components would be imported. The COVID-19 restrictions, compounded by the sanctions, have necessitated colossal efforts to redesign vessels, quickly analyze and find options for remodeling them to use equipment manufactured in Russia or in friendly countries. “We must give credit to fishermen for being very understanding when it comes to the construction deadline extensions. The redesign will be completed next year, with construction being launched at Khabarovsk Shipyard in 2024 and at Vympel and Admiralty Shipyards in 2026,” Alexey Nadyrshin highlighted.
Sergey Kulikov, General Director of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, also mentioned the close cooperation with fishermen: in many aspects, the agency is working to simplify the construction requirements by jointly determining if the equipment supplied meets the applicable safety requirements and verifying documents of foreign classification organizations. Chinese suppliers are also making a substantial contribution in this respect, and fishermen regularly come up with proposals for changing the regulatory framework as applicable to the Register.
Alexey Osintsev, President of the Fishery Shipowners Association, raised the issue of government support for construction of large-capacity ocean-going fishing vessels. He said that additional efforts will be required to expand the Russian fleet’s presence in the high seas.
Igor Zubarev, Senator of the Russian Federation, stated that the discussion of regulatory documentation with regard to shipbuilding and investment quotas is open and many experts are involved in the lawmaking process. Achieving technological sovereignty is the priority at this stage, the Senator believes.
The meeting’s moderator Dmitry Stoyanov, Deputy General Director for Civilian Maritime Equipment at Kurs Central Research Institute, spoke about government support for shipbuilding. “The ongoing pilot project guarantees a maximum 20% subsidy for critical equipment,” Stoyanov said. “But this should be taken into consideration at the start of an investment project, not when construction is already in full swing.” At the moment, 260 Russian ships are being built with this state support and the Register already contains more than 1,800 types of subsidized shipboard equipment and material.
The government plans to support shipyards in the Far East owing to the rise in product prices explained by their remoteness from material and equipment supply hubs. Additionally, a zero VAT rate is proposed for ship maintenance enterprises that have allocated at least 20% of their annual earnings to buy, upgrade and repair equipment and fixed assets, and have entered into a seven-year contract with the Ministry for Industry and Trade.
Representatives of Vyborg Machine Building Plant, Marine Complex Systems, Marling LLC, Armalit and other Russian industrial enterprises spoke about today’s equipment production capabilities and cutting-edge developments in shipbuilding, fish processing and instrument making, which include trawl opening control systems and introduction of smart vessel management systems.
The participants agreed that coordinated efforts by all stakeholders will help align the construction schedule and reach the target of Russia building one of the world’s most advanced fishing fleets.