No More State Funds, Russia Warns its Ship Builders
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin came down heavily on country's shipbuilders criticizing them for doing a poor job to implement instructions from the president and prime minister regarding wider production of civilian ships at domestic shipyards.
He warned that they will not be receiving any more state funds to buy foreign equipment, Russian news agencies reported.
At a meeting of Maritime Collegium, Rogozin warned shipbuilding industry leaders that there will be no more money [used] for foreign contracts.
Rogozin pointed out that there was still no promising line of ships and maritime technologies crucial for the transportation of oil and gas, nor production schedules with year-by-year breakdowns.
"We do not forbid shipbuilders from working with foreign partners, in fact we encourage it. Learn what you do not know, but produce it in Russia. Do not import [completed products], learn how to produce them," news agency TASS quoted him as saying.
Rogozin recalled that the Economic Development Ministry had been appointed to coordinate efforts to create a ship-building cluster in the Far East on the basis of the Zvezda shipyards.
Rogozin argues that the country’s yards will step up construction of civilian vessels as military orders are completed. However, he does not outline any clear plan for how to overcome the major technological gap, as well as lack of capacity, among Russian shipbuilders.