Two research vessels for the All-Russian Fisheries and Oceanographic Research Institute faced a delay of at least four years due to sanctions. The situation, as reported to government officials, comes from materials prepared by the Federal Fisheries Agency for a meeting of the government commission charged with advancing the fisheries complex.
The plan had these ships delivered by the end of 2022, two years after the initial order was placed. The project carried a construction cost of 5.9 billion rubles, and the client had the entire budget covered by a subsidy. Yet anti-Russian sanctions disrupted the production process. Additionally, the overall spending on the project rose to 13.7 billion rubles, and a new final amount could not yet be determined.
Reports indicated that sanctions forced a redesign of the shipyard process because access to several components and technologies from Western suppliers was blocked. As a result, delivery shifted to roughly 2026, with a source noting that achieving this timeline would likely require the involvement of Turkish partners.
Analysts cautioned that the project could still be abandoned in full. For example, in May the Agriculture Ministry abandoned plans to build three ships at a total cost of 70 billion rubles. Moreover, the current budget could grow further due to currency fluctuations and additional redesign needs.
In mid-June, President Vladimir Putin stated that the Russian merchant fleet would undergo a substantial modernization in the next five years.
The Cabinet later decided to allocate 1 billion rubles to develop equipment for civil courts and related operations.”