Russian firm Rosmorport has terminated its contract with the Onega Shipbuilding Plant for the construction of two innovative icebreakers worth a total of RUB 18.5 billion (US$231 million).

Source: Russian newspaper Vedomosti

Details: The 2021 agreement envisioned building 95-metre-long Icebreaker7-class vessels with a power output of 12-14 MW.

The ships in question are designed to break through ice up to 1.5 metres thick and run on both diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas. According to Vedomosti, Russia has never built vessels of this type before.

“The icebreakers were supposed to be deployed for year-round operation in the Baltic, White and Barents Seas, as well as in the Arctic Ocean during the summer-autumn period,” the newspaper added.

They were initially scheduled to be delivered to the customer in 2024, but the deadline was later moved to 2026. However, construction never effectively began due to sanctions.

Initially, the vessels were to be built under a subcontract at the Turkish Kuzey Star Shipyard, but the arrangements fell through after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Despite no construction being carried out, Rosmorport advanced RUB 9.27 billion (US$116 million) to the shipyard. The plant is now obliged to return these funds within five working days after the termination of the contract.

Background:

It was previously reported that exports of Russian Arctic oil to China have surged, while ship-to-ship (STS) transfers at sea enable Moscow to bypass US sanctions.Russian shipbuilding corporations are reportedly running out of key components, particularly for engines, which is delaying or halting the production of tankers and other vessels needed to transport oil and cargo.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!

From Ukrainska Pravda via this RSS feed