Komsomolskaya Pravda: "Russia’s icebreakers to leave Chinese, Koreans behind"
Frank reported that Russia's merchant fleet has grown four times over in five years. It has risen from 17th to fifth place globally and may soon be the world's leader.
"In five years Sovkomflot has become the world's most dynamically growing tanker company," Frank said with pride.
Sovkomflot is ready to work the Arctic and the North Sea routes.
The company is building icebreakers and tankers to be used for shipping liquefied natural gas. New ships will be built in the Far East and St Petersburg.
"What portfolio of orders do you have for Russian shipbuilders?" Putin asked.
"Russian orders account for practically half our portfolio," Frank said. "In money terms, these contracts are approaching $1 billion."
"What kind of vessels do you think Russian shipbuilders should focus on to meet the interests of shipping companies?" Putin asked.
"It makes no sense to be involved in primitive shipbuilding, if only because it is hard to compete worldwide," Frank said. "The development of supply vessels, shuttle tankers and oil rig platform equipment for developing the Russian Arctic in an arduous climate is much more promising. We monitored the construction of the Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov tankers. Their quality is beyond reproach and we are fully satisfied."
"Are they cheaper than South Korean vessels? Putin asked.
Frank said that Russia's shipbuilders work a bit slower than their Korean counterparts, but charge less.
As for quality, soon the Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov will go for an experimental mission. Experts hope their icebreaking ability will be better than that of South Korean ships.
Frank told Putin that amendments to the national legislation are needed on reducing taxes and simplifying registration procedures to bring down the cost of production and make Russian ships more competitive. Thereafter Russian ships may well top China's and South Korea's.
"We'll make decisions about this in the near future," Putin promised.
Larisa Kaftan
