VLADIVOSTOK, November 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russian shipbuilders need to offer a quality product equal to foreign producers, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
“Russian shipbuilders need to offer real quality products that are no less inferior to those of foreign [products] in their characteristics, cost, as well as the speed in construction and repairs,” Putin said during a meeting on domestic shipbuilding.
Earlier in October, a Russian Navy Deputy Commander-in-Chief Rear Adm. Victor Bursuk stated that the country is capable of building warships similar to French Mistral-class carriers itself.
The domestic shipbuilding issue has been in the center of attention in Russia as the completion of the 1.2 billion euro ($1.5 billion) deal for the delivery of two French Mistral-class carriers to Russia deal has been jeopardized by the series of economic sanctions implemented by the West against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.
Russia to Concentrate Shipbuilding in Far East for Arctic Energy Resources
Russian energy companies are interested in constructing and purchasing new ships for exploring Far East and Arctic shelves, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"The ship construction cluster in the Far East should become the largest production center that will launch and service various classes of ships, first of all for our domestic market," Putin said.
"The further development of shelf fields in the Far East and Arctic are in the plans of Russia's leading oil and gas companies," the Russia president added.
The Arctic is believed to hold vast untapped reserves of oil and gas that are the matter of interest for several countries, including the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark, and have increasingly been at the center of disputes between them.
Russia has been pressing ahead with efforts to develop its Arctic territories, including hydrocarbon production and development of the Northern Sea Route, which is gaining importance as an alternative to traditional routes from Europe to Asia.
Earlier this year, Putin ordered the establishment of a separate public body responsible for the implementation of the Russian policies in the Arctic and a unified network of naval facilities to host advanced warships and submarines to boost protection of Russia's interests and borders in the area.
Putin Calls on Russian Civilian Shipbuilders to Share Best Foreign Experience
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on civilian shipbuilders to use the best foreign experience and increase their cooperation with foreign partners.
“Wherever needed, foreign experience should be attained and enter into technological alliances with leading world producers,” Putin said during a meeting on domestic shipbuilding.
The president also highlighted that Russian shipbuilders should be able to offer the top quality product, better than any foreign analogues, while the competitive advantages should be transformed into the economically effective products.
Shipbuilding is a well-developed industry in Russia. Currently, most of Russia's shipyards are located in either northern regions such as Murmansk, or in the Russian Far East, around Vladivostok. The country's new region of Crimea has a big shipbuilding potential, thus Moscow is considering utilizing the facilities of Crimean enterprises and plants to boost the domestic production.
