Sanctions as a blessing in disguise
Russian shipbuilding can be encouraged by the sanctions as it is to develop in the hi-tech niche, say the experts of Krylov State Research Center engaged in development of a wide range of vessels and marine equipment including those to replace the foreign counterparts. Meanwhile, shipbuilding localization does not exceed 10-15% today.
From schemes to projects
FSUE Krylov State Research Center celebrating its 120th anniversary is a system integrator of Russian shipbuilding. When sharing the Center’s development plans and making forecasts related to the future of Russian shipbuilding Anatoly Aleksashin, Director General of KSRC, said that Russia is quite competitive in the global shipbuilding market, especially in the niche of hi-tech shipbuilding. In the future, it will be able to compete in building conventional large capacity vessels. The North West region of Russia, Saint-Petersburg in particular, remains the scientific and production center of domestic shipbuilding. 71% of all Russian shipbuilding facilities, 58% of professionals and 39% of companies is concentrated in the region.
Curiously enough, domestic shipbuilding can bee encouraged by international sanctions against Russia which particularly touch on the supply of facilities and equipment for off-shore projects. Krylov Center has developed conceptual designs of a drilling vessel and drilling units able to replace foreign developments.
For example, the Center has developed a conceptual design of a jack-up drilling rig for exploratory drilling in shallow water which can be operated in ice-free period in the South-Eastern part of the Pechora Sea, near the Yamal peninsula and in the Ob-Tazovsky Bay in the Kara Sea supposed to contain considerable hydrocarbon recourses. The newly designed drilling rig is unique among its counterparts to operate in shallow water (from 3 to 21 meters deep).
Besides, a conceptual design has been developed for a drilling rig with an air-cushion base. This rig allows for exploration in the coastal area of the Arctic shelf in exceptionally shallow water (from 0 to 3-4 meters) where other facilities cannot be used. It can also be applied in heavy going areas of marshy tundra and at landfast ice.
As Oleg Timofeyev, Deputy Director General of Krylov Center, told IAA PortNews, Russia oil&gas used to show no interest in such domestic designs as it was a routine practice to order them from abroad. However, sanctions open the prospect to phase out imports in this sector. The Center is currently in negotiations with Gazprom.
Apart from developments in the niche of drilling rigs Russia is still a leader in building icebreakers. Yet, there are new challenges here. From 2015, new international standards set a limit of sulphur content in marine fuel at 0.1% in the Baltic Sea. It can boost the development of infrastructure for supplying gas fuel (primarily LNG). With an appropriate infrastructure and a stable market of LNG, it can prove to be more economically efficient as compared with distillates. Taking into consideration that icebreakers (except for nuclear icebreakers) are powered by diesel fuel, it is necessary to build LNG powered icebreakers with a double-fuel icebreakers as a possible solution.
A shallow-water icebreaker designed by the Krylov Center can run on both diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas. The icebreaker can be used as a diesel-powered, gas-powered or double-fuel vessel. The icebreaker’s endurance is lower when she is powered by gas while operational costs are higher when she runs on diesel fuel. As a diesel-powered vessel the icebreaker will be able to carry 385 t of diesel fuel, as a double-fuel vessel - 322 t of diesel fuel and 24 t of LNG, as a gas powered vessel - 212 t of diesel fuel and 56 t of LNG. When operating at a short run on LNG the bunkering will cost RUB 3,170 per mile, when working exclusively on diesel fuel – RUB 6,670 per mile.
While on the subject of LNG as bunker fuel, it should be noted that Krylov State Research Center has also developed a range of LNG bunkering vessels tailored for specific needs of certain companies. Read more about it in “Port Service. Bunkering Market.”
Though the civil sector is of vital importance, the majority of orders are placed in naval shipbuilding where phasing out of imports is crucial. According to Krylov Center Deputy Director General Valery Polyakov, the opportunities of national industry are wide in this sector provided that there are adequate political solutions. The expert says Mistral counterpart can be easily designed and built in Russia while so many lances are broken over this French helicopter carrier.
Production
As for shipbuilding facilities in Russia, they require expansion and modernization. The project on construction of a shipbuilding centre at the Far East Zvezda plant is being implemented in the Primorsk Territory today. Its first phase is to be completed in 2016. The first orders will come from Rosneft.
There is a plan to build a new dry dock at Severnaya Verf in Saint-Petersburg. This would considerably expand the opportunities of the national shipbuilding in terms of construction of large capacity ships.
Having Crimea as a new constituent entity, the Russian Federation has obtained the Kerch based shipyard Zaliv. It is a significant acquisition as the plant can build large capacity vessels with the deadweight exceeding 100,000 t.
One of the key problems of Russian shipbuilding industry is low efficient and deficit of qualified personnel. The first problem could be solved through investments into modernization, the other one is being handled with the establishment of basic departments in related educational institutions and arrangement of training at enterprises and organizations followed by signing contracts with the students.
Nevertheless, there is no escaping international cooperation. As RF President Vladimir Putin said at the meeting on creating a shipbuilding centre in the Far East, “We should of course, use foreign experience where appropriate, and form technological alliances with leading world producers”.
Anyway, localization level of Russian shipbuilding is not high so far. According to the data of the Krylov Center, it is 10-15% in the sector of general equipment, and is almost absent in the sector of technological equipment. As for drilling equipment, there are only concept designs while scientific research and experimental work is underway. Localization of engine production is about 10%, production of screw-rudders has been recently launched in Severodvinsk. Metal used is mostly Russian.
Vitaly Chernov
