Delivery of some rescue ships intended for the Arctic can be delayed by a year and a half— head of Rosmorrechflot
14 vessels of that kind will operate in the area in 2024
The delivery of some rescue ships intended for the Arctic and foreseen by the Strategy for the Development of Russia’s Arctic Zone can be delayed by a year and a half, Zakhary Djioyev, Head of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) said at the roundtable meeting “Transport Potential of the Northern Sea Route” held in the Federation Council.
“The President’s executive order and the Plan for the Development of the Northern Sea Route assign two tasks to Rosmorrechflot. One of them is the construction of the rescue fleet. The first phase stipulates for the construction of 16 vessels. All of them have been contracted by this moment, the construction is underway, and we are going to complete all the six vessels this year. Together with the current eight vessels there will be 14 units by the beginning of the next navigation season,” said Zakhary Djioyev.
According to him, the contracts foresee the delivery of the remaining 10 vessels by 2024 but it can be delayed by a year and a half.
“It is not a critical delay but it is essential,” said the head of Rosmorrechflot.
The cause of the delay is the equipment. Initially, foreign equipment was planned but now, amid the sanctions, the industry of Russia is trying to work in this direction on its own, which requires time. Rescue ships can be moved to the Arctic from other basins as compensatory measure.
The next phase foresees the construction of 30 more rescue ships by 2030. The design work is underway. Zakhary Djioyev says that the base budget for 2025-2030 is about RUB 70 billion. However, this amount was allocated before the sanctions and the rise in the cost of construction.
“We understand that we will go beyond this amount in the current conditions. Clearly, there is time left, that is the period of 2025-2030, there will be several more budget cycles and we will come to the understanding of the amount needed for this programme,” explained Zakhary Djioyev.
The NSR development plan also foresees the construction of four search and rescue bases, in the ports of Murmansk, Dickson, Tiksi and Pevek.
