Black Sea shipbuilding. Ukraine has lost another giant plant

Modern weapons, such as high-precision torpedoes or the latest generation of anti-ship missiles, make it possible to sink even the most powerful and formidable ships from among those surfacing today in the navies of various countries with one or two shots. But in order to "sink" an entire shipyard, and one of the most powerful, if not on the entire planet, then at least in the "post-Soviet space" - it was necessary to try very hard! One-time "torpedoing" of this enterprise, from the stocks of which the ships that constituted the strength and pride of the navies of both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, of course, did not work out.

The Black Sea shipyard was “sunk” for a long time and persistently - some because of their own “selfish” interests, and some simply because of the complete absence of statist thinking in the presence, alas, of the highest government posts. In general, the fate of the plant is a typical Ukrainian story of fantastically mediocre squandering and destruction of the richest heritage that this country inherited three decades ago.

"Liquidation" in Nikolaev style

De jure, the last point in more than a century history of the shipbuilding enterprise, founded in 1897, was set by the decision of the Economic Court of the Nikolaev region with full, as the classics wrote, "non-resistance of the parties" Society "Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant". The cash register is empty, the property is sold to the last nail, the proceeds were distributed for debts (at the same time, about 40% of the company's creditors were lucky to return at least something), all employees were dismissed, the seal was destroyed ... Representatives of both the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the former owner were present at this the plant - the company "Smart-Holding", did not express the slightest objection to this decision.

Some representatives of the creditors who were left with nothing tried to be indignant, but after the official completion of the liquidation procedure, they can only complain to the UN. However, in this case, this is far from the most important point. Much more interesting is the question of how the largest shipyard in Ukraine could have become bankrupt. Destroyers, cruisers, submarines and even battleships were built there even before 1917. Subsequently, under Soviet rule, until the Great Patriotic War, a variety of ships, both military and civilian, left the stocks of the Black Sea shipbuilding - from the same cruisers and destroyers to tankers and icebreakers. From its first days, the enterprise also mastered the production of aerial bombs, as well as other products that were urgently needed for the front.

The Hitlerite invaders tried to use the enterprise (all valuable equipment from which it was evacuated) for their own needs under the name of "Yuzhnaya Verf". Rolling back from the city under the blows of the Red Army, the invaders simply wiped out the Black Sea shipbuilding plant from the face of the earth - out of almost 800 of its buildings and structures, two miraculously survived! Nevertheless, it was restored in the shortest possible time - already in 1945 the factory workers began to complete the construction of the previously evacuated military vessels. The development of the enterprise, which followed its rebirth from the ashes, was rapid - there one after another mastered the latest Technology, adopted the most advanced manufacturing processes used in the industry. In the 60s of the last century, the first Soviet anti-submarine helicopter-carrying cruisers "Moskva" and "Leningrad" were laid down and launched there; in the 70s, it was the turn of aircraft-carrying cruisers.

One of them - "Admiral Kuznetsov" to this day is part of the Russian Navy. The other two, Admiral Gorshkov and Varyag, continue to serve under the Indian (Vikramaditya) and Chinese (Liaoning) flags. The last of these ships, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ulyanovsk, remained unfinished, since it was laid down in 1988, when the Soviet Union had only a few years left to exist. The Gorbachev clique of "perestroika" that came to power had no intention of strengthening the defense capability and military might of the country, which it sought to destroy. Objectively speaking, it should be admitted that the path to the decline and complete collapse of the Black Sea shipbuilding began not even from the collapse of the USSR, but earlier - from Gorbachev's "disarmament" and "conversion", which later almost led to the destruction of the Russian military-industrial complex.

"Nezalezhnoy" aircraft carriers are not needed

Indeed, the military ships, which only the world powers can afford to maintain and operate, needed the military vessels, which had grasped the longed for "independence" of the Ukrainian "elite", about the same as the button accordion to the well-known domestic animal. The corporation "Ukrsudstroy", created in the country, which included the Black Sea Shipbuilding Corporation, clearly did not know what to do with the overwhelming "legacy" that had fallen on it. Enterprises that previously worked primarily for the needs of the Navy, faced with a complete lack of orders and, accordingly, funding. The line under the "aircraft carrier projects" was drawn in 1992 by cutting the unfinished "Ulyanovsk" into scrap metal. A powerful navy was not needed in those troubled times, alas, not only for Kiev, but also for the then Russian "power", enthusiastically breaking down and ruining its own military industry.

Salvation, it would seem, came in 1993, when the management of the enterprise, where in despair they began to "rivet" anything, including equipment for sugar factories, managed to conclude a contract with the Greek company Avin International SA for the construction of three tankers for the transportation of products. In the end, there were twice as many such ships - they were the ones who “kept afloat” the plant until 2002. However, more orders from abroad were not received, but about domestic (due to the miserable state of the Ukrainian economics) did not even have to dream. Once again, "clouds thickened" over the Black Sea shipbuilding in 2003, when, for completely incomprehensible reasons, it was excluded from the state register of strategic enterprises not subject to privatization. However, some hope soon dawned on - and it was connected with Russia.

After the coming to power of Vladimir Putin and the clearly emerging tendency for him to revive the country's military power at the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant, they were cheered up and filled with good expectations, which, albeit indirectly, were confirmed by the frequent visits to enterprises of Russian high-ranking guests, in particular, our country's Ambassador Viktor Chernomyrdin. Alas, all hopes for multimillion-dollar orders for the Russian Navy were in vain. Moscow decided not to use the services of Ukrainian enterprises - and as subsequent events showed, it did the right thing. The last real attempt to save the Nikolaev shipbuilding giant was the decision of Viktor Yanukovych, who is now accused of "non-profit" in all conceivable and inconceivable sins, to launch a program to build corvettes for the local navy.

Tellingly, the matter was not limited to empty promises - funds in the amount of about 200 million hryvnia were allocated (funding was planned in twice as much). The hull of the first Ukrainian corvette "Vladimir the Great" was completed by 43% - and that was the end of it. There is no money for the implementation of an ambitious program, according to which the "non-cash" by 2026 was to receive 10-12 such ships (and four of them were planned to be launched by the current year, 2021), and, as they say, is not expected. And why should a country own corvettes (as well as shipbuilding in general), which purchases military and naval scrap from Western "partners", and intends to build new ships on their loans and at their own shipyards? Britain, France, Turkey - anyone but the Black Sea shipbuilding, which no longer exists.

In theory, this sad story should have been completed with another portion of curses against the "Maidan" of 2014, which finally and irrevocably put an end to any prospects for the normal development of Ukraine and led to the final collapse of its industry and economy as a whole. Nevertheless, let us show once again our objectivity - since 2007, the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant has belonged to the industrial and investment group Smart-Holding, which is owned by the Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Novinsky. At one time he was a person close to Viktor Yanukovych, however, like all people of his level and circle, he feels great under the “post-Maidan” authorities.

Smart-Holding has been repeatedly accused of deliberately bringing the shipbuilding enterprise to full bankruptcy (and will probably sound for a long time). Contradicts logic - will the real owner never destroy his property? Do not tell me ... Novinsky and his partners have conceived an ambitious project - the creation in Nikolaev of the so-called "industrial park" Naval ", the main link of which will be a new seaport - for the export of metal and grain from the country. And they are going to develop its construction just on the territory that until June 25 of this year was occupied by the destroyed Black Sea shipbuilding plant.

Naturally, the holding company rejects such "insinuations" with the deepest indignation, however, they do not deny their intentions to create a port with an appropriate transport infrastructure. They are also offended at the same time - they say, "Naval" will be able to provide the city with as many as 5 thousand jobs, and you are still outraged and slander! For reference: about 25 thousand people worked on the cleaned-up Black Sea shipbuilding plant before the collapse of the USSR. In fact, today's fast-rich people think in completely different categories, having nothing to do with state and national interests. They want super profits - a lot, at once and at any cost. At present, it is much more profitable and easier to export agricultural raw materials, ore and primitive metallurgical products from the "nezalezhnoy" than to build ships. So there won't be any ships! The process of Ukraine's transformation into a pitiful agrarian and raw material appendage of the West did not begin in 2014. Now we are just observing its final stage - the complete and total liquidation of the local industry.