Why another shipbuilding contract "sailed" from Russia to Turkey

This spring FSUE "Rosmorport" announced a tender for the construction of a new linear diesel-electric icebreaker with a capacity of 18 MW ice class Icebreaker7. It was also announced that only domestically built vessels will go along the Northern Sea Route (NSR). And then a few days ago it became known that the order for this icebreaker went to Turkey after two floating docks for the newest Russian nuclear icebreakers. What is generally going on with our shipbuilding industry, and how justified is the placement of a contract in a NATO member country, let's figure it out.

First, it is necessary to say a few words about the "icebreaker of discord" itself. Diesel-electric icebreakers of project 21900 and 21900M are double-decked vessels of unlimited navigation area with a capacity of 18 MW, equipped with a helipad, which ensure movement in ice up to 1,5 meters thick, towing vessels and other floating structures, providing assistance and carrying out emergency rescue operations, research seabed, pipeline laying, oil spill response, fire-fighting and other special tasks. On the basis of these two projects, the 21900M2 version was developed, belonging to the Icebreaker7 ice class, which is in question. A very useful thing in the national economy, especially in the conditions of the Northern Sea Route. But why did the domestic shipyards refuse to undertake the construction of an icebreaker of the Russian project?



Among the applicants for participation in the tender were the Finnish Helsinki Shipyard Oy, the Hamburg Pella Sietas and the seaside "Zvezda", but the order went to the Turkish Sefine Denizdzhilik Tersane Dahilik Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. As a matter of fact, she alone came to the “competition” and naturally won it, having received a contract for 13,3 billion budget rubles. It is reported that the Turks were given preference, since all Russian shipyards began talking at a cost of 15-16 billion rubles. And this is not the first time. Let us remind you that not so long ago we have detailed told on an order for the construction of two floating docks for nuclear icebreakers, which also sailed to Turkey, which requested one and a half times less than domestic shipbuilders. Why has it become such an expensive pleasure to build ships in our country?

The problem, as usual, is of a systemic nature. After the collapse of the USSR, the entire industry fell into decay due to underfunding and in places of outright sabotage, many important enterprises remained in other countries, in particular, in Ukraine. A notable recovery in shipbuilding, military and civilian, has begun in the last decade, but it faces a host of challenges. These are problems with power plants, and dependence on imported equipment, which have to be used due to the fact that there are no longer domestic analogues. Shipyards are overwhelmed with orders, and their culture and overall production efficiency is lower than in South Korea, China or Japan. Import substitution is hindered by the imposed Western sanctions, and then metal prices have risen sharply.
Yes, building a new ship in Russia is expensive and time consuming. In this regard, there are several possible solutions to this pressing problem.

Outsourcing

Yes, you can place orders with foreign shipyards. In fact, this is absolutely normal world practice, even the mighty USSR did not disdain this at one time. We have touched upon this topic in detail, reasoning that it would be possible to accelerate the shipbuilding program for the Russian Navy by transferring part of the work to Chinese shipyards, of course, under the strict supervision of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Such considerations did not arouse much enthusiasm among the general public, but judging by the situation with icebreakers and floating docks for them, the problem of cost and timing for the customer, represented by the state, is critical.

To summarize: in the conditions of congestion in domestic shipyards, there is nothing shameful in transferring part of the orders to a foreign contractor. However, there is one important caveat. The contractor must be as reliable and neutral as possible in relation to Russia. For example, South Korea, China, Finland, at worst. But why Turkey? Since when has this country, a NATO member and waging several "proxy" wars with us at once, suddenly become the best choice? Are you tired of being stabbed in the back in the Kremlin? Perhaps no conclusions have been drawn from the situation with the Mistrals? And why give the Turks a finished project of an excellent multipurpose icebreaker? Isn't the North Atlantic Alliance torn to our Northern Sea Route? Why make it easy for him?

Reindustrialization

There is another way, which can be followed even in parallel with placing orders abroad. One of the problems of domestic shipbuilding is that the construction of truly large ships is beyond its strength today. The famous Soviet shipyard with huge slipways and docks remained in the Ukrainian Nikolaev. As a matter of fact, this is considered one of the main reasons why Russia allegedly does not need aircraft carriers, because there is nowhere to build them. Sevmash and Zaliv are packed with orders for years to come. Yes, the opening of the Zvezda superyard in Primorye was a big step forward, but it is also all contracted for giant tankers. We have to decide whether to build something or this. But this is not quite the right approach.

Let's take a look at Turkey, where our orders have begun to flow. The mentioned shipyard Sefine Denizdzhilik Tersane Dahilik Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. was established in 2005 in the small coastal town of Yalova with a population of 40 thousand people. Before industrialists came there, the main activity in Yalova was mining. This is how a typical Russian monotown looms, adjusted for Turkish conditions. But in the middle of the 140s, a shipyard with an area of ​​120 thousand square meters was founded there, which is capable of building and repairing ships with a displacement of up to 4 thousand tons, huge passenger and car ferries, giant ocean ships. XNUMX thousand people are directly involved in production, that is, relatively speaking, every tenth, and how many more indirectly?

Isn't this the same recipe that will suit our country too? Why not invest in the construction of a new, yet another superyard, capable of building at least tankers, even ferries, even floating docks, even aircraft carriers? This will not only accelerate the pace of implementation of shipbuilding programs, military and civilian, increase the taxable base, but also create thousands of highly skilled jobs promised to us long ago.