The Russian government has moved to expand the use of leasing as a tool for funding the construction of ships intended for fishing and the processing of fish products. The announcement, conveyed by the press service of the Council of Ministers and reported by TASS, indicates that leasing will be allowed to finance not only the vessels themselves but also the production facilities that handle fish products after harvest.
According to the publication, these changes will enable a broader application of leasing within the maritime reconstruction program, making it possible to fund the building of fishing vessels alongside the associated production infrastructure needed to process and package seafood products.
In a related development, on March 21 President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia and China are prepared to establish a joint working body dedicated to advancing the Northern Sea Route. This collaboration could streamline logistics, increase cargo movements, and coordinate research and development across Arctic shipping corridors, with potential implications for both regional trade and global supply chains.
Earlier, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov spoke in a RBC broadcast about the scale of the country’s shipbuilding plans. He noted that 130 billion rubles from the National Welfare Fund are slated for the construction of roughly 250 to 270 civil ships. Evtukhov also highlighted that current shipyards across Russia are actively constructing 291 vessels at a total committed investment around 1 trillion rubles, with funding already secured for the existing program. Looking ahead, he suggested that overall funding for the comprehensive construction schedule through 2035 could reach around 3 trillion rubles, with the aim of producing approximately 1.1 thousand civilian ships by that time. These figures reflect a sustained push to bolster domestic maritime capabilities, support coastal economies, and position Russia as a more influential player in global shipping and fisheries supply chains as the Arctic environment evolves.