Russian Naval Shipbuilding Industry: News

A contract was signed for the construction of a slipway at Severnaya Verf

As the St. Petersburg edition of the Kommersant newspaper reported in Yana Voitsekhovskaya's article, "Severnaya Verf has found a new contractor for the boathouse. Construction may be completed in 2022",Severnaya Verf (St. Petersburg), a subsidiary of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), signed a contract with a new contractor for the modernization of the plant, which is planned to be carried out from 2015, for 7.8 billion rubles. It was Otechestvennye Sistemy i Tekhnologii LLC, which had not previously been involved in shipbuilding projects, and is one of Rostec's suppliers. In 2019, USC terminated the contract with the previous contractor, JSC Metrostroy, this happened against the background of the latter's financial problems and the failure to meet the deadline for work. After the expansion of capacity and the commissioning of the boathouse, the shipyard specializing in military orders will be able to start building a cruise ship.


Severnaya Verf has signed a contract with Otechestvennye Sistemy i Tekhnologii (OST) LLC for the continuation of work on the first stage of construction of the shipbuilding complex, the company told Kommersant. According to the terms of the contract, the completion of the work is scheduled for December 2021. However, both the customer and the contractor have already stated that they do not exclude a shift in the dates for 2022. OST associates this with the timing of manufacturing and equipping the boathouse with specialized equipment for the construction of ships, which exceeds a year. A Kommersant source in the industry previously stated that without technological equipment, "not a boathouse, but an expensive shed will be built."

Talks about the modernization of Severnaya Verf have been going on since 2015, the possibility of building a dry dock and the purchase of a Goliath overhead crane with a lifting capacity of 1.2 thousand tons were considered, but they were abandoned due to lack of funds. As a result, it was decided to build a boathouse with a slipway at the first stage of modernization and only at the second stage to build a transfer dock and a hull-processing shop. The tender for the construction of a boathouse for 6 billion rubles in November 2017 was won by Metrostroy OJSC (owned by the government of St. Petersburg and spouses Olga and Nikolai Alexandrov). However, in March 2019, the parties terminated the contract amid missed deadlines and financial problems for the company itself. According to Kommersant's information, by that time Metrostroy could complete work for a total of about 2 billion rubles.

“We don’t want to continue giving such a complex and important project to all sorts of unnecessary people and crooks,” the head of USC Alexei Rakhmanov commented on the situation at the time. The corporation yesterday could not answer Kommersant's questions about how they relate to the new contractor's lack of experience in similar projects and whether the contract provides for sanctions for violation of the deadlines.

The first stage of modernization of the Severnaya Verf includes the construction of two horizontal slipways, covered with a 73.5 m boathouse, with overhead cranes with a lifting capacity of 350 tons, the company said. OST has been at the construction site of the shipyard for a year and a half, it was developing a new project after the departure of the previous contractor, the company said. “We were invited by USC so that, while the design is in progress, the construction does not stop and work on those positions that were not subject to redesign and have already passed the approval of Glavgosexpertiza, move on,” they added to the OST.

OST has already completed work for 1 billion rubles, the company said. The contractor is completing the installation of slipways for the future boathouse intended for the construction of ships and vessels with a launch weight of up to 25 thousand tons, emphasize at the Severnaya Verf. More than ten companies took part in the tender of Severnaya Verf, said the head of the enterprise Igor Orlov in an interview with Kommersant (see Kommersant from 08/19/2020). The OST said that only she submitted the application during the further tender procedures.

According to SPARK-Interfax, OST was registered in 2013, controlled by Bariyat Osaeva. According to Kommersant's information, the ultimate beneficiary of the business is her husband, Yakov Avrakh. The OST portfolio includes cooperation with JSC "MMP named after V. V. Chernyshev", JSC "RSK" MiG ", PJSC" UEC ", JSC" Ramenskiy instrument-making plant ", corporation" Fazotron-NIIR "and the plant" Ekran ", and also the construction of a tennis club and the reconstruction of the stadium in Luzhniki. The company's revenue in 2019 increased by 25%, to 2.2 billion rubles, the net profit increased by 16%, to 25.1 million rubles.

USC calls Severnaya Verf a candidate for the construction of a cruise ship. But until the modernization of the plant is completed, it will not be able to start construction, Mr. Orlov said. “We have an understanding that from the end of 2022 - the beginning of 2023 we can negotiate the start of construction (of a cruise ship - Kommersant). In the boathouse measuring 250 x 100 m, it will be possible to build ships of great length and width. Today, taking into account the specialization in military products, we have very narrow slipways, and even for "fishermen" we are also limited by the width of the slipways. And in the new boathouse it will be possible to put one wide liner or two narrower ships, ”he explained.

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Zvezda shipbuilding complex received a license to build nuclear-powered ships

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United Shipbuilding Corporation acquired the Vympel shipyard

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Interview with the head of the USC Alexei Rakhmanov

The Kommersant newspaper under the heading “Now absolutely everything works on the buyer's side” published an interesting interview with Alexey Rakhmanov, General Director of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC).

The United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) this year completed one of its key projects - the atomic icebreaker Arktika. The general director of USC Alexei Rakhmanov told Kommersant about how the deadlines for other orders, the modernization of Admiral Kuznetsov and the need to adjust the pricing for civilian vessels are being met.

- How many ships will USC hand over this year?

- It is always a little premature to talk about the results until the year is over. I can only say that in terms of revenue we will definitely be in the parameters of 2019. In principle, everything is going quite well in our civilian life, about 21 vessels should be handed over. By mid-November, 13 vessels of various classes have already been delivered to customers, including the 60 MW nuclear icebreaker Arktika, the 25 MW diesel-electric icebreaker Viktor Chernomyrdin, the Mustai Karim passenger cruise ship, two fishing trawlers Barents Sea and Vasily Kaplyuk ", as well as dry cargo ships. Seven more vessels are preparing for handover: three dry cargo vessels RSD59, two cargo pontoons, tanker RST25, cargo-passenger and rescue vessel. 18 new contracts signed. Another 500 billion rubles. contracts in progress: their conclusion depends on state support measures,

- What is the situation with new orders?

“We received orders for only seven crab catchers of 35–37 pieces - this, as you can see, is not the most impressive result. However, it is worth remembering that our enterprises are heavily loaded with the production of current fishing vessels under investment quotas. As a result, five crab catchers are building Krasnoe Sormovo, which has never produced vessels of this type and with such a draft. The situation became possible within the framework of the implementation of the concept of a distributed shipyard - when a company can start building a steamship, and then transport, complete and deliver at the sea bases of USC enterprises.

Also among the orders of the corporation are two passenger ships of the A45-90.2 project at the Nevsky Shipyard. We have started construction of four self-propelled rotary bucket dredgers that are needed for dredging - as part of the reconstruction of inland waterways. And, of course, we are in line with the schedule for the construction of support blocks for the Kamennomysskoye-Sea field for Gazprom.

In total, as of November, we have 111 contracted and ongoing orders of civil shipbuilding.

- And what about the military orders?

- We discussed the state defense order issues a lot during the year. An important contract at the Amur plant is for the construction of six more corvettes. It provides a steady growth in revenue, which we see in the framework of the financial recovery program of the ASZ. But a difficult story remains, connected with the fact that the marginality of military and civil orders is low, and we also need to develop in such difficult conditions. We try.

- You recently stated that you expect to achieve parity between military and civilian products by 2030. How? By reducing the military order?

- We do not give up plans. But much will depend on the extent to which the naval shipbuilding program is funded. Until recently, the program was considered a general guideline for us - in terms of what the fleet needs. And now more and more - and we are very happy about this - the Navy realizes that it is necessary to forecast and develop a family of submarine and surface ships for the life of this family or generation.

It turns out that we have to forecast 30–35 years ahead. This is the only way shipbuilding can live systematically: that is, when we understand that we design within the life cycle, then we build, then we form a large series of 7-12 units or more. By the end of the life cycle of this generation, we begin to design the next one, and by the time the ships of the previous generation are scrapped, we begin to produce replacement ones.

The same approach is promoted by all our "sworn friends". The Americans have such a policy. It is necessary to act according to the only possible and well-approved and understood principle of the product life cycle in the world. Long ago, all industries have proven this: from the automotive industry to the pharmaceutical industry.

- When will the new multipurpose nuclear submarine Kazan be handed over?

- Everything is going more or less normally. I hope we will finish the work by the end of the year.

- Are the last two strategic missile carriers 955A Borey-A laid on Sevmash?

- I will not answer this question.

- Will the corvette "Zealous", which should become the first corvette for the Black Sea Fleet, be delivered in 2021?

- We had a problem with financing the contract, which has been practically resolved to date. In general, there were problems with the current family of corvettes, since there were again improvements and changes in a number of systems. To date, they have also, in principle, been overcome. I hope that from 2021–2022 the family will move relatively rhythmically.

- Will India receive two Project 11356 frigates in the first half of 2024, as expected?

- Yes, everything is going according to the schedule, we have some delays in the supply of a number of types of customer-supplied raw materials and very small delays in payments associated with the pandemic. Now, when the appropriate amendments are made, I think the contract will return to its original schedules and timeframes - perhaps with minimal adjustments.

- At what stage is the modernization of the dock for "Admiral Kuznetsov" at the 35th shipyard? Has your conflict with the previous IIS contractor ended?

- We have no conflict. The company simply did not work and did not report to us for about 1 billion rubles. from the advance. IIS lost the court, and its appeal was dismissed.

As for the new contractor, with a delay of about four weeks from the deadline that was planned at the conclusion of the contract, we plan to complete the cofferdam and within the next one and a half months pump out water from the formed pool, so that not in May, as planned, but in June In 2021, put the "Admiral Kuznetsov" on a temporary basis for docking.

- What decision was made on the project of this dock? According to RBC, the second stage of modernization has risen in price due to the increased requirements for seismic resistance for the dry dock to 7.9 points.

- Bank guarantees have been issued, work is in progress, accepted, the advance is replenished as it is accepted. I think that we will be able to say that we have resolved the issue of seismicity as soon as we leave Glavgosexpertiza with the design documentation for the second stage. A reduced seismicity of 6 points is now assumed. This is the documentation that has been completed by the current contractor based on an assessment of similar construction parameters in that particular region.

In addition, the project of the Center for the construction of large-capacity offshore structures in Belokamenka was carefully analyzed. The previous contractor of TsTSS did not perform the design and survey work very informatively and with high quality, with which we suffer today, making adjustments even during the first stage. In one place they could not drive piles, they ran into granite boulders, about which for some reason no one knew before the start of construction. Elsewhere, our piles go 4–5 m below the design mark, and, of course, all this introduces some confusion. It is necessary to redo the pipe sheet pile, somewhere to lengthen, somewhere to shorten, somewhere to use leader drilling so that the piles enter, somewhere to chop boulders. How could one relate to the assessment of the state of the site?

Today, we have a contractor who has a design institute that takes on the responsibility of authoring support, while maintaining an independent - I emphasize - supervisory authority that oversees construction. Therefore, I hope that there will be no more severe deviations in construction.

- When do you plan to complete the dock upgrade?

- It all depends on how we approach work with Admiral Kuznetsov. If docking takes place as planned in 2021, delivery will take place in 2023. If we can postpone the docking of Admiral Kuznetsov to 2022 (closer to the end), then there is an opportunity to complete the main construction of the dock in the same 2022.

These are the schemes that we are now discussing with the command of the fleet. In our opinion, the top-priority completion of the dock will improve the Kuznetsov's modernization capabilities. However, the decision is up to the customer - he considers it necessary to remain in the current technical task or somehow revise it. So far - I repeat once again - all the efforts that we are directing to work are related to the fact that drydocking takes place in the summer of 2021.

- When, in that case, will the Admiral Kuznetsov be commissioned?

- At the end of 2022.

- Has the cost of its modernization changed?

- Basically, the changes concerned additional works that are contained in the so-called TTZ №2. All budget parameters have been agreed with the military. We do not intend to get out of it, even despite the elimination of the consequences of the fire.

- What is the cost of upgrading the dock?

- It depends on how we go through the second stage. According to calculations by TsTSS, due to seismicity, the rise in price was about 14 billion rubles. To remove speculation, we have done additional geophysical surveys. I will repeat myself once again, while this is a preliminary story, since we need a positive opinion from Glavgosexpertiza.

We expect that the seismicity parameters of the construction site will be made taking into account 6 points, and this will lead to certain budget savings. To date, the contracts have been signed based on a total budget of 23.7 billion rubles. Further, the savings will depend on the technologies in the second stage. I would like to note that, without waiting for this very second stage, the current contractor has practically already completed about 15–20% of the work in terms of preparing the dock bucket for the production of Admiral Kuznetsov.

- Is the work on the modernization of Severnaya Verf on schedule?

- The main contractor is on schedule.

- Is it primarily for military orders?

“We see the shipyard as a dual-use site. On the one hand, for military orders, that is, for all frigates, including modernized ones, if necessary for corvettes.

The idea is to build steamers in this boathouse with a readiness level of up to 90%. At the same time, to launch an almost finished product and then simply finish it up, conduct sea trials and transfer it to the customer. The new administrative building will be very close to production, all technologists are within walking distance. The scheme that we discussed with the designers is very well verified logistically.

- What is the total cost of the first stage of modernization? Previously, it was about more than 7 billion rubles.

- 1 billion rubles. spent on the construction of the coastal part, about 300 million rubles. will be spent on building communications, plus 4 billion rubles. already spent on lifting equipment, it is manufactured. To these sums, 7.3 billion rubles is added, which is the cost of erecting the box itself with the engineering infrastructure. That is, the total cost of this stage is still at the level of 11-12 billion rubles.

- Will there be another stage?

- Of course, we will also install modern hull-processing production, painting chambers. If necessary, we can lengthen the boathouse by another 200 m, then it will be possible to build anything on it. But so far there are no such plans.

- Does USC do it at its own expense?

- No, for the money of the Federal Target Program of the OPK. With minor amendments to the installation of the bow, it will be possible to build any ships and ships up to 280 m at the renovated Severnaya Verf. The total launch weight of the ships that can be built here is 30 thousand tons. For an aircraft carrier, this may not be enough, but, say, in terms of icebreakers and all kinds of frigates - just our size. A large number of civilian equipment also goes here.

- “Kommersant” wrote that USC was to receive 30 billion rubles from the budget. to cover bad debts and another 38 billion rubles. for loan restructuring. Can you name the shipyards receiving support? What are the worst shipyards?

- We cannot comment on this topic, the decree is secret. Traditionally, shipyards have the most problems, which we got in bankruptcy proceedings or with a fairly large debt load. First of all, this is, of course, the Far East. At the Amur shipyard, the size of the enterprise was incommensurate with the volume of the order. Those six corvettes, about which we spoke above, should provide significant assistance. I hope that they will start production next year. A program of technical re-equipment is being conducted, and quite effectively, by the current management. We see how workshops and equipment are being modernized. I pay tribute to the head of the enterprise, Vladimir Viktorovich Kulakov - as he promised to hand over a corvette a year, he entered this rhythm.

- In 2020, a lot was said about the difficult situation at the Vyborg plant and the company's problem debts. How are you doing now?

- The plant has great potential, the quality is one of the best in the corporation. But the bet on waiting for “big and tasty” orders played a cruel joke with the shipyard management. This shows once again: there is a very big difference between the implementation of military orders and civilian ones. The civilian segment may seem simple, but it is often much more exciting than the military segment. And it must be treated with due and necessary respect. As a result, we revised the contract of the management of the Vyborg plant, made a greater emphasis on the fulfillment of KPIs in terms of revenue and profitability.

- What is the situation at the Khabarovsk plant?

- We changed the director. There, two of the seven crabcatchers that we talked about just got into production. I hope that in the near future the plant will attract several more projects - the modernization program should allow the company to launch ships weighing up to 2 thousand tons.

- This year Baltzavod put into operation the 60 MW nuclear icebreaker "Arktika". How big are the warranty obligations for the icebreaker? Has the issue with the electric propulsion system been resolved?

- On the "Arctic" on the system of electric propulsion, all approaches are defined. The icebreaker went to work, made the first pilots. Even at the stage of sea trials, he showed that with one inoperative winding on the traction motor, we fulfill all the declared characteristics, speed and sedimentation. But the technical conditions must be met, and now a technology is being developed, which in August will be implemented - with the ship docking at the Kronstadt Marine Plant - to replace the broken engine.

- Will USC pay for the change and the new propeller motor?

- Well, we didn't just pay 1.5 billion rubles for insurance. So, firstly, we are talking about an insured event, and secondly, part of the compensation will be taken by the supplier of the engine itself. Unfortunately, some - I hope, not a very significant - part will go to us.

- Will it be necessary to modernize the dock in Kronstadt?

- No. For single docking, it fits completely. It will only be necessary to supply a special dock kit for the icebreaker, which will allow it to take its full load. And so we generally have great views of the Kronstadt dock: we believe that it can be used as an outfitting site for ships and vessels produced in St. Petersburg.

- USC complained about billions of dollars in losses during the construction of "Arctic" in connection with the increase in VAT to 20%. How is this issue resolved?

- Here we need to turn to history, because neither me nor most of my colleagues were at the USC yet when the contract for the manufacture of the LK-60 icebreakers was signed.

Rumor says that when the project was being prepared, the initial price was estimated at 36 billion rubles. without VAT. And this is natural, because LK-60 is, by and large, R&D. Even the court on various minor cases has always recognized that the first lead ship should be considered a developmental development (ROC). And ROC according to the Tax Code can be carried out without VAT.

However, they say that at the last moment instead of "without VAT" there was a postscript "with VAT". Then there were requirements that went beyond the tender documentation for 44-FZ, in particular, the need to issue a bank guarantee and insurance. It is quite obvious, and we have talked about this for a long time, that there should not be a bank guarantee for contracts between two state-owned enterprises (when products are also built at the expense of the budget). But the economic bloc of the government at that moment had a different point of view. As a result, the budget for 36 billion rubles. neither insurance nor warranty was included. But each of them pulled a total of 1.5 billion rubles.

Therefore, we simply appeal for justice. There are these obvious costs.

Again, it took longer to build the icebreaker - not because we are crooked, but because the ship had to be redesigned entirely: taking into account the results of the tenders for the selection of contractors.

Of course, the ideal story is the listing of all icebreakers in the international maritime register, which will automatically "zero" VAT. It would be logical. By the way, for the last serial icebreakers, even the contract states that they will be put on the international maritime register.

Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov heard us. Instructions will be given now, on which, I hope, we will be able to issue the necessary regulatory documents in the near future.

- What amount of assistance does USC need?

- You take the cost of two serial icebreakers and, if it is quite primitive to count, without taking into account the realities of life, multiply by the VAT refund delta. That is, we can talk about the range of 4.5-6 billion rubles. on the lead icebreaker, the serial ones even hint at profitability.

- USC has repeatedly spoken about the need to increase the contract price for the 25 MW Viktor Chernomyrdin diesel-electric icebreaker. A compromise was found - the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Transport should each allocate 1 billion rubles, another 1.5 billion rubles. was getting ready to give USC. Will this money be a loss for the corporation?

- There shouldn't be any losses at OSK, all the money we get from the Ministry of Industry and Trade will go to Admiralty Shipyards and Baltzavod. We are now looking at how much loss will remain at the enterprises - from the point of view of optimization and reconciliation of the entire construction budget, which we also hope to settle within the framework of these stories with zero VAT.

- According to Kommersant's information, the Baltzavod does not fit into the construction timeframe for the nuclear-powered icebreaker Siberia; it will not be commissioned in August 2021. Is this so and what is the main reason?

- They are misinforming you. Construction on schedule.

- "Ural" is also not moving, 2022?

- To date, there is no shift. Moreover, for Ural, the delivery of the main product, to which the steam turbine unit belongs, was completed just in the standard time frame - two years before the ship was handed over to the customer. As for Siberia, we have only one problem. Trying to get away from the delay caused by the delay in deliveries and the correction of technical documentation, we decided to try an alternative supplier for electrical installation, Snema. She cooperated with us on the construction of offshore facilities in the Caspian, but here she did the job very badly.

However, there is a whole calendar year ahead in order to prepare "Siberia" for delivery. I hope that taking into account all the difficulties experienced in the manufacture of the lead ship, the first serial ship will be easier. It is quite obvious that the customer does not need this icebreaker in June or July 2022 - an egg for Christ's Day is dear. Let's push.

- According to Kommersant's information, this year two deputy prime ministers signed a letter that all the money for preferential leasing should be received by USC. It's true?

- All additional funds will be linked to the position of the Ministry of Finance and the availability of resources. I can only say that, indeed, the position of the two deputy prime ministers will contribute to the fact that Mashpromleasing will be additionally capitalized by more than 7 billion rubles. this year. We hope that, of course, this will open the way for the construction of the next batch of passenger and transport ships. Mainly at the shipyards of USC, but not only - this is the subject of an agreement with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

- This year, Krasnoye Sormovo, a member of the USC, put into operation the first cruise ship Mustai Karim in the post-Soviet period. How is the construction of the second ship on board the "Lotos" - "Peter the Great" going? Will it be completed in 2021?

- Definitely. Moreover, I hope that we will not violate the contract term - May 2021. The ship readiness percentage is approaching 80%. The new team that came to the South Center of Shipbuilding and Ship Repair, in general, copes with their task. We have almost resolved all the technical difficulties with the vessel, settled the issues of wiring a number of cable routes and fire extinguishing systems, now it remains for colleagues to roll up their sleeves and do their job.

- What is the situation with the PKS-180 Golden Ring cruise ships under construction on the Lotos? You have already handed over the first ship to the customer for completion, and when are you planning to deliver the second?

- We are ready to give the second one, the customer wants to finish building it himself. He hopes to make it cheap and cheap, but this ultimately means the use of non-register equipment. We are not ready for this; we would not like the ship we have built to suddenly get some sudden problems. So we have completed our work, it remains to complete the settlements, and then the customer will decide on the completion.

- Are you talking about the first or the second ship?

- Both the first and the second. Of course, the steamer turned out to be very interesting in terms of proportions and in terms of draft. We believed and continue to believe that this steamer is unique for such rivers as the Klyazma and Oka.

Well, let's draw our own steamer with similar properties! Moreover, we now want to strengthen our civilian bureaus, give them more orders, more money for the advanced design of new civilian products, both cargo and passenger. Our "Sotalia" is also wonderful in March will rise on the water, plus "Pioneer M" will be completed for the University of Sevastopol.

- Are you planning to build scientific vessels for Rosrybolovstvo at Severnaya Verf?

- We expected it to be Severnaya Verf, but we will look. Not far is Baltzavod, Admiralty Shipyards, not necessarily one enterprise, shipyards can work in cooperation, this is important for us.

- At what stage are the negotiations on the contract now?

- As far as I understand, we are waiting for confirmation of the budget and are already moving on to the execution of the contract. We would very much like to take on these vessels.

- What is the deadline for the completion of the contract at the Amur plant for the Vanino-Kholmsk ferries?

- The first ferry will be completed in the summer of 2021, the second - at the end of next year or early 2022.

“These ferries should have already been in operation and made a profit. Is it true that the corporation has undertaken to pay interest on the FRDV loan?

- What we have not taken upon ourselves, I no longer know. Do you know how? If we undertook to build them with a planned loss of 1 billion rubles. for each, then another 500 million rubles. will not do the weather.

- How many losses will there be?

- 2.6 billion rubles. for two.

- In May, you said that the corporation developed its first project of a cargo ship, which will be almost 100% manufactured from Russian components - Finval 8000. The industry believes that Finval is one third more expensive than what is being built now, and the customer will be faced with Russian components that were not produced in series, lack of service and other difficulties. How fair is this criticism?

- Let's start from the end. The issue with Russian components is important. Look: any machine breaks down, the question is how quickly and how accurately we can restore its working capacity. We are now negotiating with Transmashholding on the creation of a scientific and technical center for marine propulsion systems, within the framework of which we will implement a diesel engine building program. It seems to us that TMH is very competent in what Made in Russia is and is engaged in import substitution. The holding has a clear and understandable concept - a circle of those products and those parts that need to be produced in Russia is outlined. Necessarily and, as they say, without any exceptions.

They complain that these products will be a little more expensive - yes, most likely they will be at the first stage. But as soon as we understand that the developed engine will become the main engine for a large number of river-sea vessels and, together with Transmashholding, will build a service network, we will give some comfort to our consumers. There is not even a thought that we will freeze the development of diesel engineering at the level of the D49 engine of the 1973 model. We are talking, of course, about modern diesel engines that meet the environmental requirements of Tier 3A-3B for the near future. This means that the vessels will be equipped with diesel and gas engines.

If we talk about the fact that "Finval" is more expensive than, for example, RSD59. We began to receive refusals from the main partners in Schottel propellers, there were problems with the supply of some types of lifting equipment, and so on. As a result, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we agreed on a list of everything that will require import substitution. Of course, while the volumes are small, the price is always high. On the other hand, in terms of the level of added value, it is significantly higher than on the RSD59, which lives on the Finnish propulsion, German speakers and with imported electronics.

And we have not squeezed everything out of Finwal yet. There is an option - to give Finwal an additional 500-600 tons of payload. Even taking into account some rise in price, it will be beneficial to the end consumer, because he will transport more bulk or inert cargo.

- At what stage is the issue of transferring competences to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to determine the price for the design and construction of state customers' vessels?

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade assures that by the end of the year the main decisions and documents will be signed and adopted. True, we do not quite share this optimism, we see 2021 as a deadline, maybe even its end. Of course, it is in our interests that such a document appears as soon as possible. Because it is already impossible to argue.

Colleagues from Rosmorport either do not understand us or do not understand how this business works.

They continue to assure that nothing terrible will happen, there is no need to spend money on technical projects, there will be a preliminary design, then PDSP (design documentation of a ship under construction - "Kommersant"), and let the builders keep within the price.

I say in response: guys, be afraid of God, when they started building the "Viktor Chernomyrdin", they simply forgot that the steamer is 99% imported. The same is impossible! Since the ship was being built under the CPAP, the project was completed only when we screwed the last screw into the product. As a result, it has stood with us since December 2019 only because we could not transfer it to the customer without a fine. This is how the system works, but how long is it possible ?!

- How fair are the fears that as a result, prices will simply rise?

- If there is no confidence in the objectivity of such a body, it will not be able to work. I always give an example from construction. Before starting to dig the foundation pit, what did we do? We spent money on the project, hired a design organization, conducted surveys, and brought it all to Glavgosexpertiza. They looked there, said: well, understandable technical solutions, we understand what you are building from, here is a confirmation of the budget and construction technology. And 4% were taken and cut. Somehow, no one has the thesis in his head that, passing through the examination, you will definitely get a rise in cost?

But the expert organization must be really experienced and correct in order to position itself this way. If the organization positions itself as referring to shipbuilders, then one side will not believe, if as referring to shipowners, then there will be hesitation in the other direction. But now absolutely everything works on the buyer's side. Because our rules work how? You said how much it costs - that's all, be so kind as to obey. That is, the issue of revising prices and floating macroeconomic factors is not provided. To recalculate the price through the federal targeted target program, you have to go through seven circles of hell.

- In early November, speaking about the Arctic infrastructure, you said that "the development of a certain kind of infrastructure facilities is possible with the use of shipbuilding technologies." What are we talking about?

- Yes, we have ideas on the use of composite solutions for the rapid construction of the infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route and, if a decision is made, on the placement of such infrastructure elements on the shelf. The permafrost loses its support surface, and for this reason, man-made disasters are increasingly occurring.

We consider the most important and correct placement of special infrastructure on the principle of either semi-submersible or gravitational stationary structures. Taking into account the experience of working with Prirazlomnaya and other objects, we believe that this is the most correct approach for the development of the Arctic. That is, at any moment I brought the finished product, put it on a gravity base, connected several huge arrays with each other, as a result, we can achieve the transportation of up to 100 thousand tons of concrete structures to any point of the world ocean in order to form a technological or ship presence there.

- Do you already have customers?

- We signed an agreement with Rosatom and created a working group, we are looking for the first pilot project on which the technology could be tested.

- Is the cost clear?

- Of course not. We have analytics - what does it mean to build according to this principle in comparison with how to build on the ground. In this regard, there is a very good example of "Arctic LNG-2". We considered that even taking into account the construction of a plant for the production of gravity bases, it turned out to be cheaper and faster for several years than building on permafrost.

- At what stage is the move of the USC head office to St. Petersburg?

- We are in the process, the move has taken place de facto. St. Petersburg employs 48 people from those who have already relocated.

- Why so few?

- The pandemic has postponed the start of repair work and the transfer of the facility to us for modernization for the so-called command office, where the chairman of the board of directors, myself and a number of departments will be located. I had to look for a new premises a second time, they found it on Vasilievsky Island. It turned out that the landlord could not even make the communication networks inside the building himself, we had to redo it. This is plus another 2.5-3 months and 60 million rubles.

But the result will be exactly the one that was agreed upon: about two-thirds of the employees will move to St. Petersburg. The question is how to live in two cities? From the point of view of the production base and key investment projects, St. Petersburg has been and will remain one of the points of application of the main efforts. But the fact that we will not be able to tear the umbilical cord completely from Moscow is quite obvious. All decisions are made here, all the main bodies, except for the military command and control bodies in the fleet, are located in Moscow, like all civilian customers.

- You estimated the cost of the move at 1 billion rubles.

- 1.4-1.8 billion rubles. This is what will overtake us in the near future.

- Recently, there has been more talk about the transfer of new assets to USC. The next step is the decision to enter the corporation of the Rybinsk shipyard "Vympel". Don't you think that new assets will only add complexity?

- I will not argue that there will be more problems. But Vympel is of interest to us as a site for the placement of relatively small vessels, that is, either for the GIMS less than 20 m, or something from 20 m to 30 m. The demand for such vessels is huge.

And you can make barges, and the same dry cargo ships in some part of the cooperation. Krasnoe Sormovo is great, but the shipyard is straining, taking on 14 dry cargo ships, adding another 5 or 7 is too much. And customers often come to us with the task of producing 10, 12, 16 similar vessels. Development is needed, and this requires space.

Vympel has good competence in the construction of aluminum buildings, which in general, except, probably, of the Sredne-Nevsky plant, has been lost at all other enterprises. Therefore, there is an understanding for what and when the Vympel shipyard can be used by us. In the five-year horizon, I would have stopped at this acquisition, I would not have included anything else in the USC. Except for design bureaus.

- Andrey Lavrischev, general director of Rosmorport, mentioned the possible transfer of the Onega plant to the USC in an interview with Kommersant. Are there any negotiations on this?

- There are no such negotiations.

Interviewed by Anastasia Vedeneeva

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4217097.html

Interview with the director of the Amur shipyard

The KORABEL.RU web resource has published an interesting interview with Mikhail Borovsky, Acting General Director of Amur Shipbuilding Plant (ASZ, part of United Shipbuilding Corporation).

The Amur Shipyard - in the recent past one of the largest shipbuilding enterprises in the Far East - is gradually gaining momentum. At the docks of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, not only corvettes and missile boats are being built, but also ferries with tugs. Acting told us about the present day of the plant and the prospects for its development. General Director of the enterprise Mikhail Borovsky.

ASZ was originally created as a highly mechanized enterprise to solve problems related to increasing the combat capability of the Pacific Fleet. Today the plant is a diversified enterprise, the production facilities of which include hull-processing, assembly and welding, electrical installation, pipe, machine-building, painting production, a testing center for materials and products, a nuclear and radiation safety department, a section for electroplating, and a section for the production of fiberglass panels.

The plant has three heated boathouses equipped with all the necessary types of construction support systems; crane equipment with a lifting capacity of 30 to 100 tons, which allows to mount structures weighing 180 tons and to carry out round-the-clock work on the construction of ships with dimensions of 190 x 19 m. The production capacity of the NPP allows to process up to 30 thousand tons of steel per year.

In 2021, one of the largest enterprises in the Khabarovsk Territory will celebrate its 85th anniversary. During this time, more than 300 ships and vessels for various purposes were launched from the stocks of the Amur shipyard, including nuclear and non-nuclear submarines, surface warships, civilian ships and marine equipment for various purposes: from small fishing vessels to cargo and rescue vessels with the highest class automation.

- The development of civil shipbuilding is one of the most important tasks set by the USC for the enterprise. How to efficiently build civil ships at a shipbuilding plant?

- In my opinion, there are three main factors for the effective construction of commercial ships. First, you need to count your money. It is necessary to understand that pricing for commercial orders differs somewhat, if not strikingly, from pricing for state defense orders. Every day you need to remember about production efficiency, minimize additional, overhead costs, only this will allow you to build commercial orders with maximum profit for the enterprise.

Second, working with suppliers is important. On commercial orders, with foreign suppliers, and even under sanctions, coordinated effective work with suppliers is an art! A product delivered on time is a completed order.

And, finally, the third - design work and technical support for construction. Shipbuilding is a very high-tech, complex technological process, projects, as a rule, are not worked out at the proper level, and often these are the main (first) projects. Up to two-thirds of the ship's construction time is spent on the development of the project and working documentation, and the most effective enterprise will be the one that can minimize the time of this work, increase the quality of documentation, and minimize the time for resolving issues that arise at the time of order construction.

- What civil projects are you preparing to implement, with whom are you negotiating? What is the plant ready to offer to commercial customers today?

- Today the company has three civil orders: two ferries (the customer is the State Transport Leasing Company) and one rescue tug of project 00360 for the Ministry of Transport. The company plans to transfer these orders to customers in the near future.

Negotiations are underway to continue the construction of a series of ferries and rescuers. Regarding the construction of ferries, I want to note that, having experience in the manufacture of ships of this class, we are ready to continue working in this direction and place additional orders with us, making them serial. Then the need to build a bridge to Sakhalin Island will disappear. In general, the company is open and ready for any order.

The plant can offer its services for the construction of various ships to commercial customers. In our opinion, we have several qualities that are very attractive to potential customers. Firstly, ASZ has earned an excellent reputation with the customer in the military segment with the delivered ships and has the right to count on references in the civilian sector. The civil vessels built by us over the past five years are highly appreciated by the customer, this has a positive effect on our position in the Far East region.

Another plus is our automated construction management system. This is one of the areas of development, along with rearmament and optimization. We have succeeded greatly in creating our ACS, and today we have something to show civil customers in matters of organizing the construction of ships. We are also distinguished by the quality of the personnel, the engineering staff of the team. The average age of employees at the enterprise today is 42 years, more than half of the employees of the main production of the shipyard have higher technical education. We can really boast of this to the customer.

Of course, it is worth mentioning the quality of the products. The company has a quality system and works well. Quality policy is an unconditional component of the entire production process. I would also like to note the availability of production capacity reserves. Today we are underutilized in civil shipbuilding and are ready to place orders for construction.

We are capable of innovation. Over the past ten years, the plant has mastered six projects from scratch, accumulated colossal experience in this direction. We provide warranty service and repair of all completed orders. The geographical location allows us to express serious intentions to take over the entire segment of medium-tonnage shipbuilding for the Far East region, both commercial and state.

Another strength of ours is the established and strong relationship with the main suppliers. Deliveries in shipbuilding is one of the most important issues.

- At the end of October, two vessels were launched at once, including the powerful ice-class rescue tug "Kerch Strait". When will there be clarity on the construction of three more similar vessels?

- Indeed, at the end of October two ships were launched simultaneously. This operation is unique for us in that the simultaneous launching of ships took place for the first time in the history of the plant. The company has successfully completed this operation, and now both ships will be completed at the outfitting embankment.

Order No. 360 ("seven megawatt") is not easy. Firstly, it is the first in the series, and secondly, due to disagreements between the customer and the designer (Marine Engineering Bureau) in 2012, the project was frozen by 31% of technical readiness, and construction was stopped. For six years, the company kept the order, carrying out routine maintenance on the mechanisms. Construction has been resumed and is proceeding according to schedule. I think that the customer in the person of the Ministry of Transport sees the pace of work, and as a result, next year a contract will be signed for at least three more such vessels.

- The construction of railway-car ferries of the CNF11CPD project for Sakhalin began not easy, the terms were postponed, the cost grew. What are the reasons and what is the situation today?

- We have already discussed the efficiency of commercial shipbuilding and brought out three key factors for the effective construction of a commercial order. So on ferries, all these three factors were at the lowest level, and this is not only the fault of the enterprise.

Head order, not tested, not worked out; design and issuance of working documentation dragged on for almost a year, longer than planned. Hence the increase in construction time. The revision of the project causes constant alterations and the introduction of additional materials, hence the increase in the contract price. New, mainly foreign manufacturers of equipment - this is additional time for the supply, for initialing the equipment and, as a result, for the issuance of working documentation. All these factors eventually led to an increase in construction time, a rise in cost, and a postponement of completion.

But the enterprise overcomes all problems, one of the orders is already at the delivery base in Vladivostok. The body is formed in the volume of 100%. The works on delivery of ballast tanks for design, testing and painting are in progress. Work on electrical installation is actively launched. More than 140 km of trunk and local cables have been pulled. Work is underway to turn on the main switchboard, diesel generators, electrical installation of the main and auxiliary equipment. We started preparing the premises for the start of work on the formation and equipment of cabins. The work on the installation of the ballast-drying system, fire extinguishing system, fuel and oil systems, and gas duct systems is nearing completion. Preparatory work is underway on the main engine and the shaft line. The equipment of the freight elevator, stern and side closure is being prepared for installation.

We plan to deliver the first order ahead of the deadline, which is indicated in the contract today. The second order is located at the outfitting pier in Komsomolsk, its technical readiness is higher than at the first with a similar technological stage of construction. The second order will be transferred to the delivery base in Vladivostok next year, we, like the first, will hand over it ahead of the deadline specified in the contract.

- A separate subdivision of the plant - the "Vostok" delivery base is located in Bolshoy Kamen and is engaged in the completion of ships and ship repair. To what extent is domestic ship repair in demand in the Far East today?

- In 2017, the delivery base of our enterprise was relocated from Bolshoy Kamen to Vladivostok, completely preserving both its purpose and the profile of work. It is a separate plant division and performs the functions of final completion, sea trials and final delivery of the plant's products to customers. In addition to workshops equipped with everything necessary for the completion and repair of ships, the base has its own quay wall with a length of 120 meters. This allows us to simultaneously repair four vessels of various types with a draft of up to seven meters.

The branch of PJSC "ASZ" under the leadership of V. G. Atyukov undertook obligations to provide fleet repair services and performed them with dignity. Last year, a contract was signed for the parking and maintenance of transport refrigerators of the Russian shipping company Vostokflot. The delivery base provides warranty service for supply vessels of project 22420, built by order of Gazprom Flot LLC. At the moment, we have also established partnerships with the companies "Pavino-Tanker", Rybkolkhoz im. IN AND. Lenin and a number of other ship-owning companies.

In 2020, we gained experience in accepting an order built at a related enterprise, USC. So far, we only provide services for placing an order and personnel and providing production space, but in the future, with the consent of the manufacturer, we are ready to perform a full cycle of delivery of an order from the stage of factory running tests.

In the future, we plan to expand the list of potential partners not only by attracting new customers for the construction of ships and ships, but also by providing services for the repair and maintenance of marine ocean engineering. Anchoring in this production niche, increasing the list of services - for us this is not only market expansion, it is new jobs. Compliance with contract terms and quality is important for any customer. An important issue is the cost of work. The support of the Russian government is of great importance here, since the overhead costs of enterprises in the Far East are significantly higher than in Russia as a whole.

- Did you manage to pick up the pace of construction of project 20380 corvettes?

- Of course! We can recall the story: the first serial order with the serial number 2101 for many objective reasons was built at the enterprise from 2006 to 2017. The plant mastered the construction of this project, encountering difficulties in working with composites, non-ferrous metals, bimetals. In fact, we were familiar with all this, but it was a long time ago, even before the 1990s, and we remembered a lot on this order. Many thanks to the Ministry of Defense and the command of the Pacific Fleet, who nevertheless believed in the plant and signed a contract for one more serial order.

The enterprise was already building the second corvette much faster. On it, we mastered working with composites, and we made the superstructure from composite materials on our own. Having estimated the high rates of construction and development of the project, the Ministry of Defense decided to conclude a contract for two more buildings. The third order of the series is being prepared for delivery, and at the end of December it will be transferred to the Ministry of Defense. Considering that serious modernization measures have been taken on the ship related to weapons, we can talk about not quite a serial order. We have established positive relations with suppliers, and we are building the superstructure in cooperation with other enterprises of the USC group.

- How is the program for the construction of small missile boats [ships] of Project 22800 being carried out?

- The technical readiness of order No. 201 "Rzhev" today is 12%, while the body is formed by 50%, the production of block-sections in the assembly and welding shop is underway, the final assembly and assembly of the entire body is planned for December. Order No. 202 "Udomlya" is 8% completed. This is 30% of block sections, at the stage of completion of manufacturing another 30%, the beginning of assembly and installation of the hull is scheduled for January 2021. The technical readiness of orders No. 203 (Pavlovsk) and 204 (Ussuriisk) is still 4 and 1.5%, respectively. In the assembly and welding shop, work is underway to form bottom and side sections for assembly in block sections. We plan to complete the building of all four RTOs in the first quarter of 2021.

From January next year, work begins on the formation of superstructures on the ships of project 22800. The contracts for long-cycle supplies are being negotiated, the first supplies of equipment are expected in the second quarter of 2021.

- Throughout its history, the plant has repeatedly participated in the creation of sophisticated equipment - it has built nuclear and diesel submarines, ships, drilling platforms, chemical carriers, large-tonnage vessels of high ice class ... What, in your opinion, is not enough for domestic shipbuilding to compete on equal terms with foreign shipyards? What types of ships should Russian shipbuilders focus on?

- Indeed, over its 85-year history, more than 300 ships and vessels for various purposes have been built and repaired at the ASZ. ASZ has repeatedly participated in the development of orders, in the construction of head orders, but after that we received a series. It seems to me that serial production is the most important factor in successful competition. The fifth order is considered serial in shipbuilding, and in recent years we have not built an order larger than four units in the series.

In addition, I am convinced that the Russian shipbuilding industry needs government support, such as the "keel quota" program. Russian shipowners and ship consumers should only enter the Russian shipbuilding market. One of the support measures can be assistance to enterprises remote from the center, having complex logistics, additional social burdens (northern, etc.). Today all these additional costs are borne by them, and it is impossible to compete on the Russian market, let alone compete with the world leaders in shipbuilding.

- One of the leaders of the ASZ owns the words: "Give us three orders a year and the company will show that it can build quickly, efficiently and with high economic indicators." Today "Amur Plant" is provided with state orders for several years ahead, how can it surprise?

- I think the word "surprise" is not entirely appropriate. We plan to develop steadily, build and deliver ships and ships to customers on time and with excellent quality. We have a very extensive production program for 2021. We are planning to transfer to the customer the first cargo-and-passenger road-rail ferry of the project CNF11CPD "Alexander Deev". The multifunctional rescue vessel with a capacity of 7 MW "Kerch Strait" will also be prepared for delivery.

We are completing the construction of the first series of multipurpose ships in the near sea zone - project 20380 corvettes, transferring the fourth ship to the Ministry of Defense, but we are starting the construction of another line of ships of the same project. We will continue construction of four small missile ships of the Karakurt class of project 22800 and a second ferry for the Sakhalin line. The plans, as I have already said, are the preparation and conclusion of a contract for the construction of three more "seven-megawatt" plants.

- How is the plant planned to develop in the coming years? What are the main tasks to be solved?

- To select the directions of the enterprise development and formulate the main development tasks, it is necessary to first understand the main, key problems, those that today do not allow us to say that we are "the most efficient enterprise in Russia", and systematically, gradually, step by step to solve them.

Today there are four main problems and four main directions in the development and solution of these problems. The first is a low load. Only an enterprise loaded with work can develop and be technically re-equipped, etc. The Amur Shipyard today sets a goal not to get hung up on military shipbuilding, but to balance the order portfolio. We are actively working with commercial customers of ships, we have repeatedly come out with a proposal to become a co-executor in the contracts of DVZ "Zvezda". In addition to specialized construction, the company is actively accepting orders for the manufacture of metal structures. We were once taught that you cannot refuse to work, and it is under this motto that we work today.

Deterioration of equipment is the second most important. The plant is not young, in addition, it needs to be re-equipped technically, and within the framework of the Federal Target Program, the enterprise is working on the reconstruction and modernization of production facilities, as well as speeding up work on the creation of the "Compact Shipyard".

We have to continue work on the reconstruction of the hull-processing, welding, slipway, pipe-processing industries and technical re-equipment of the production facilities of the ASZ. We have almost completely replaced the welding equipment in the welding shop and on the slipway, launched a whole range of metal cutting and metalworking machines, purchased auxiliary equipment for the assembly of sections and control and measuring equipment.

Large-scale reconstruction continues in the hull-processing shop, where, in addition to the purchased automated cutting lines for sheet and profile steel, equipment for water-jet and thermal cutting of metal, a new line for shot blasting and conservation of rolled metal has been launched. Machine-building production was replenished with CNC metal-working machines. Both in the hull and in the machine shop, work is underway to replace the physically worn out lifting equipment.

Reconstruction of hydraulic structures for the technological support of the withdrawal of ships from the berths will allow us to technologically ensure the construction, repair and withdrawal of ships from the berths, increase the production of serial orders and, in the long term, closely engage in the repair and maintenance of ships for the Pacific Fleet.

The construction of a transport and launching dock with a carrying capacity of 7,500 tons, the development of the project of which has already begun, will allow us not only to ensure the production of ships and ships of the surface and submarine fleet in compliance with the contract construction deadlines, but also to exclude the current costs of renting the dock.

Third. A high proportion of overhead costs leads to high product prices, inability to compete. We are engaged in bringing the main and overhead personnel to the optimal ratio, moreover, if during the last two years we have been optimizing overhead personnel, now we have set ourselves the main task to increase the number of main production workers, this is vital with the growth of the enterprise load.

We increase production productivity, including through the "Lean Manufacturing" system. In 2019, the economic effect from the implementation of projects for the development of the production system using Lean Manufacturing tools amounted to about 400 million rubles. We expect this figure to increase this year.

We are developing and implementing a motivation system aimed specifically at product release, etc. However, more important in this process was the restructuring of one's own consciousness, the awareness of the inadmissibility of any kind of loss and a conscientious attitude to work.

Another task is to get rid of the burden of loans, including through government support. The reason for this situation was a long-term period of low plant utilization, when a high percentage of overhead costs were not covered by the actual rate of return under existing contracts and it was necessary to attract credit funds. This snowball is growing and every year not only eats up the entire profit of the enterprise, but negatively affects the financial result of the Company. As part of the ongoing capitalization, the plant received the first tranche in the amount of 4.2 billion rubles. The funds were used to pay off problem loans to Sberbank.

- Until recently, there were six shipyards on the Amur, now for the construction of corvettes or the repair of submarines it is necessary to attract workers from Zvezdochka and Sevmash. The plant is recruiting specialists in the North-West and the Russian south. What is the situation with the training of local personnel?

- Unfortunately, all enterprises of the Far Eastern region experience an acute shortage of personnel, we are no exception, therefore the plant has started work on attracting personnel from other regions. These specialists receive compensation for the flight to the location of the enterprise, in the future they are partially compensated for housing costs.

We understand that the main task in the personnel policy of the enterprise is to attract and develop its personnel! That is why our company has its own systems for working with him. We are successfully training the basic working professions. In 2020, 140 workers who studied at the enterprise were hired at the ASZ.

The adaptation system aims to secure the incoming worker. It includes various motivational payments, including payment every two years for travel to the place of rest and back, the opportunity for young workers to participate in professional skills competitions with a further increase in the working category, and, consequently, with an increase in wages.

We also undergo internal training of personnel, for example, the basics of "Lean production". The creation of a personnel reserve is one of the areas of work for the preparation, training and retention of personnel. The company has a talent pool, and career growth at the NES is possible, there are many examples of this. Another component of retaining personnel at the enterprise is the horizontal rotation system, or the opportunity to retrain for a related, more demanded specialty.

The system of training future workers and specialists for the NEA is cooperation with such educational institutions as the Komsomolsk-on-Amur ship-mechanical technical school named after V.I. Hero of the Soviet Union V.V. Orekhova, Governor's Aircraft College (Interregional Competence Center), Komsomolsk-on-Amur State University.

I would like to emphasize that even in the context of a pandemic, the task was not only to bring the work of the Amur shipyard to an acceptable level that meets the necessary requirements, but also to try not to disrupt production plans. Even in this unstable time, we continue to increase the human potential of workers in the main shipbuilding professions, if in March there were 1343 main production workers, then at the beginning of November - already 1460.

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4220735.html

Interview with the General Director of CDB "Rubin"

The Independent Military Review published an interview with Igor Vilnit, General Director of the Rubin Central Design Bureau of Marine Engineering (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation).

- Igor Vladimirovich, this year the unmanned underwater vehicle Vityaz-D, developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau, plunged into the Mariana Trench. What else is in demand or may be in demand by customers in the near future?

- Both in Russia and in the world, the demand for unmanned underwater equipment can be divided into three segments: scientific, commercial and military. In all three segments, a variety of devices are in demand - from small-sized ones with a short range of action to large ones with high autonomy. So far, the peculiarity of the Russian market is the predominance of demand from the law enforcement agencies. However, it is “Vityaz” that shows that this situation is gradually changing and there is a demand for scientific underwater equipment. I hope that our small devices "Amulet" and "Talisman", due to their compactness and low cost, will simplify the formation of such a demand, because it is no secret to anyone that the budgets of scientific institutions are small.

At the junction of scientific and commercial areas is the issue of exploration of shelf oil and gas deposits in the freezing seas - so far this is mainly a scientific problem, but it has a distinct commercial potential. Today we are developing a whole complex of unmanned vehicles for under-ice seismic exploration, we consider this area to be very interesting.

Unfortunately, so far we do not see a demand for underwater robotics from commercial customers, despite the fact that underwater work in our country is quite active. Perhaps the corresponding tasks are solved by previously purchased foreign devices, perhaps the reasonable conservatism of potential customers also plays a role - it is better to make investments in approved equipment. However, in both cases, time is working for us, and we, in turn, are preparing new devices for this market segment.

- Displacement of the first submarines I.G. Bubnov was about a hundred tons, modern submarines are much larger, and the underwater displacement of the world's largest nuclear submarine "Akula", designed by "Rubin", according to open sources, exceeds 40 thousand tons. Will the size of unmanned underwater vehicles grow at the same rate, will they reach hundreds of tons?

- Displacement - a mirror reflecting the capabilities of both the ship and the industry. Over the past 120 years, the functionality of boats has increased many times, hence the increase in displacement. The same considerations apply to unmanned underwater vehicles: the higher the customer's requirements, the larger the vehicles he will need. Already today there are underwater vehicles weighing fifty tons, the growth rate in unmanned underwater vehicles is even higher than in habitable ones. However, this does not mean that all devices will be like this, the five-ton "Vityaz-D" and the small "Amulet" weighing 15 kg have their own tasks. The main criterion for a robot is its efficiency; therefore, no one will increase the size of the apparatus and create difficulties with its release and reception, if this can be avoided.

- The popular book by James Delgano about the history of submarines was published in Russia under the title "Silent Killers". And when will it be possible to speak figuratively about the combat submarines of the future as about “submachine guns” operating without a crew? Remotely controlled and fully autonomous combat boats, tanks and unmanned aerial vehicles have already been created. When will it be the turn of the submarine submarines?

- To answer this question, you will have to touch on not only technical aspects, but also moral ones. The main problem is responsibility for the use of weapons. It is clear that a rather complex algorithm can control the movement of the robot or even recognize targets. Modern submarines are unthinkable without automation, because the processes taking place in a reactor or during salvo rocket firing are too complex and fleeting for humans. But the decision to use weapons always remains with the person pressing the "volley" button. Because only a person can be responsible for the consequences, including possible mistakes. Aircraft, boats and tanks, now considered "autonomous", maintain two-way communication with the control center, where the person who presses the button is located. When a stable and covert channel of communication with boats is established, located hundreds and thousands of miles from the coast, at depths of hundreds of meters, or under multi-meter ice? This is a question for the future. Which one? Time will show.

- The first submarine of the Russian fleet in the Far East was the German-built Trout, which implemented the principle of “full electric propulsion”. How do you feel about the idea of ​​creating nuclear submarines with a power plant based on the principles of full electric propulsion?

- This is a very relevant idea. Its example clearly shows that technology is developing in a spiral: we periodically come to the revival of old ideas, but at a new technical level, and sometimes with new tasks. Today, the goal of introducing electric propulsion on nuclear submarines is to reduce their noise. Undoubtedly, a power plant with a high-power propulsion electric motor opens up great prospects in terms of noise reduction.

- Compact nuclear reactors have been developed. They were placed on space satellites, and today from high stands we hear about new Russian developments of cruise missiles and torpedoes with power plants, based on the processes of nuclear fission. Maybe in underwater shipbuilding it makes sense to return to projects like "Dollezhal's eggs" and the like, where a compact reactor was used to recharge the batteries of experimental diesel-electric submarines?

- We periodically carry out such studies, we are also aware of foreign works on this topic. In theory, boats with low-power, auxiliary nuclear reactors can be relatively small in size and cost. However, as with so many other things, the devil is in the details. Even a low-power reactor requires the same safety features at sea and at the pier as a full-size one. He puts forward the same requirements for crew training, coastal infrastructure, etc. By itself, replacing diesel generators with a reactor with turbine generators does not solve the problem of secrecy, because the greatest disadvantage of a diesel submarine is not the periodic contact with the atmosphere itself, but the high noise of the diesel engine. Practice shows that it is as difficult to de-noise a "small" nuclear power plant as a "large" one.

- Project 636.3 is the pinnacle of a long evolution of the original Varshavyanka. It's all? Are the construction reserves exhausted? What's next?

- December 31 this year will mark the 40th anniversary of the transfer of the first Varshavyanka, the lead submarine of Project 877 to the Navy. During this time, Rubin provided the construction of 71 submarines according to Projects 877 and 636, and all of them were delivered to customers on time.

Project 636.3, developed by order of the Russian Navy, is a deeply modernized submarine, which, in fact, has nothing in common with the original Varshavyanka. The requirements for submarines have changed today, but the significant modernization stock originally included in the project allows this to be taken into account. The combat effectiveness of modern diesel-electric submarines of Project 636 is significantly higher than those that were built in the past.

In the foreign market, we offer the next generation project Amur 1650, but Varshavyanka also retains its positions. It can be delivered in various modifications, including the installation of equipment from a foreign customer.

- “New ship in an old building” - this phrase is relevant today for surface shipbuilding. Suffice it to mention the restructuring of “Gorshkov” into “Vikramaditya” and the modernization of “Nakhimov” underway at Sevmash. Are there any similar examples for submarines? Is this direction relevant?

- Our bureau has performed such work many times. Today we are working on the modernization of Project 949A nuclear submarines. In the future, such modernizations and re-equipment, apparently, will become commonplace - due to financial constraints, the service life of ships is increasing, and keeping them up to date requires more and more efforts. We take this trend into account and when designing new ships, the possibilities and directions of their future modernization are discussed with the Navy at the very early stages of the project.

- The construction of submarines of the "Lada" type was greatly delayed. The lead "Saint Petersburg" has not completed trial operation, and the first serial "Kronstadt" has been afloat for a year and a half, but has not yet begun full-scale acceptance tests. At the same time, there is great progress in the construction of nuclear-powered cruisers of the Borey-A project and diesel-electric submarines of project 636.3. One gets the impression that the work on the Ladakh is being carried out on a leftover principle. Is it so? And what is needed to speed up the work on the 677 project?

- The lead ship has successfully completed a trial operation program. The corresponding final act was approved by the Navy. Since the moment the Russian Navy formed additional requirements for the improved Lada project, we have made significant progress. Not everything can be said, this is the prerogative of the customer. As you know, the Russian Defense Ministry has contracted a series of these ships. As for the further development of the project, we presented our designs to the state customer.

- Experts are of the opinion that Russia needs non-nuclear submarines with VNEU for operation in the North, where, given the ice situation, underwater autonomy is important. Do you agree with this opinion?

- Where exactly to use non-nuclear submarines with VNEU, the state customer decides. We can only say that the Lada-class submarine performed well during tests both in the Baltic and at the Northern Fleet's test ranges.

- Thanks to projects 877 and 636, Russia has become one of the world's largest exporters of diesel-electric submarines. However, in recent years, we have seen little direct sales of submarines abroad; licensed construction in the customer countries has come to the fore. So, Italy, Turkey and South Korea collect boats of German projects, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Australia - French, etc. What do you think, can a situation arise in which direct sales of diesel-electric submarines will completely remain in the past, and the buying countries will build submarines themselves according to foreign blueprints? Can Russia fit into this new scheme for the implementation of non-nuclear submarine technology?

- On the one hand, I would not expect that direct sales or any other instrument will completely remain in the past. Over the past decades, we have repeatedly heard: “nuclear submarines will completely replace diesel ones,” “no one will buy a submarine without VNEU,” and the like. All these slogans turned out to be too bold. The needs of the customer countries are so diverse that a wide variety of technical and organizational solutions find their niche in the market. On the other hand, the trend of building at the customer's shipyards is indeed becoming more tangible. Our bureau is also preparing to work on this scheme, interacting with the industry and the Indian Navy under Program 75, and the construction of six new submarines in India.

At the same time, one must understand that a modern submarine is a very complex machine, for its construction it is necessary not only to buy blueprints, but to create a production and test base, train production and engineering personnel, establish a system of equipment supply and quality control, and so on. All this is included in the concept of "technology transfer" and is impossible without the support of the project developer. Transferring knowledge and skills developed over decades requires a much higher level of interaction between the developer and the buyer than simply obtaining a set of blueprints. The level of technology transfer that a supplier is willing to accept can also be very different - there are both commercial aspects and security issues. Our experience allows us to navigate with confidence in all these issues.

- After the construction of the Dolphin and the subsequent series of ships of the Kasatka type, distinguished by a single-hullless design, Dzhevetsky's rotary torpedo tubes and other distinctive features, the world shipbuilding community began to talk about the so-called “Russian type of submarine”. Do you think it is possible to use this term today in relation to the underwater technology of the present time? Do modern Russian submarines have any features that are unusual for foreign submarines, primarily American and European?

- Sure you may. The boats of each country that managed to create and maintain a school of submarine shipbuilding have their own recognizable and unique look. The Soviet and modern Russian schools are distinguished by great attention to the constructive provision of unsinkability and explosion and fire resistance. And also the desire to reduce the size of the crew due to the high level of automation, high standards of habitability - the conditions on our submarines are in many ways better than those of our foreign colleagues, and a number of other aspects that are not very noticeable at first glance. There are differences in the little things. For example, Russian non-nuclear submarines have an external anti-hydrolocation coating, while on foreign boats it is extremely rare, and the method of loading ammunition through upper torpedo tubes is called "Russian" throughout the world.

- According to the memoirs of B.M. Malinin, when the restoration of the fleet began after the Civil War in the Soviet Union, it was not possible to find any recommendations, instructions and textbooks on the design and construction of submarines, and this despite the fact that Tsarist Russia had a fairly strong and developed submarine. It turned out that along with Bubnov, his experience went away, his followers had to comprehend a lot with their minds and from foreign textbooks. What efforts is Rubin making to keep this story from repeating itself? It is known that the textbook by Yu.N. Kormilitsin and O.A. Khalizev ("The device of submarines"), the memoirs of S.N. Kovaleva, I. D. Spassky. What other examples of the transfer of shipbuilding experience by the Rubin veterans to the next generations of shipbuilders could you give?

- Yes, this story is an instructive example of what happens if the flywheel of boat design and construction is stopped even for a short while, albeit for the most objective reasons. Fortunately, the second such failure in the history of domestic submarine shipbuilding did not happen even in the most difficult years for the country. In the process of accumulating and transferring experience, several layers can be distinguished: work with universities, transfer of experience within the bureau and exchange of experience with colleagues. In the first layer, our bureau closely cooperates with leading universities in their specialization - SPbGMTU (Korabelka), Voenmekh and others. Bureau staff teach classes at these universities, and students do internships at the bureau.

The second layer is the training of young specialists in the office. As part of the internship, young employees listen to lectures by leading employees, visit construction plants and even take mini-exams. During the annual youth scientific and technical conference "Look into the Future" dozens of young specialists of our bureau, construction plants and our contractors present their ideas and receive an objective assessment of their work from experienced bureau employees. The next most complex layer is publications and scientific works. Over the past 10 years, we have defended three doctoral and seven master's theses. Our experience is reflected in the regulatory documentation: Rubin is the developer of a number of industry standards. All these efforts allow us to be confident that the next generations of designers will be able to rely on our 120 years of experience and successfully solve increasingly complex problems,

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4221102.html

The efficiency claims contradict the previous information. If the previously released information about the operational temperature
are real, then these new claims are BS. Why would any Russian manufacturer have detailed documents on Ukrainian manufactured
equipment? This is true even if the designs data back to the USSR. Making such a comment in public invites Banderastan to
raise a stink about intellectual property theft. So the above "quote" is some sort of disruptive BS either by the journalist or
by the interviewee.

Feodosia shipyard "More" will be transferred to USC

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4285766.html