OREANDA-NEWS  The rate of ship decommissioning in the Russian Navy is currently almost twice as fast as the rate of construction of new ones. This assessment is indicated in the review of the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLC), which is referred to by RIA Novosti.

Until 2022, such losses could be compensated by chartering foreign vessels, but due to sanctions, these opportunities are severely limited. The situation with river vessels is much worse — the speed of their construction lags 4.5 times behind the departure. Moreover, in the tugboat segment, write—off occurs 9 times faster than replenishment, and in bulk carriers - 5.4 times.

High loan rates, as well as long payback periods, do not allow shipping companies to order a new fleet on their own. They will be able to do this only with state support.

In total, Russia needs to build 1,400 ships of inland waterway transport and 500 units of sea transport in the period up to 2030, the document says.

In early December, the head of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), Andrei Puchkov, announced that a trillion rubles would be needed to complete the ships ordered by the state and private companies. According to him, the concluded contracts turned out to be cheaper than the cost of the work itself, therefore, it will not be possible to do without the help of the state.

Last fall, VTB received 100 percent of USC shares in trust management for five years, and the head of the bank, Andrey Kostin, became chairman of the company's board of directors. After studying the state of the shipbuilding industry, he compared the company's activities to a pyramid scheme, and the state of the shipyards to a historical museum.