Russia to ramp up funding for subsidized leasing program in shipbuilding
YEKATERINBURG. July 8 (Interfax) - The program to stimulate demand for new vessels through subsidized leasing will be expanded significantly by redistributing funding within Russia's federal project for manufacturing ships and components, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Albert Karimov said.
He recalled that programs to boost demand through subsidized financing and subsidized leasing are widely used in the auto industry.
"There is the same kind of program in shipbuilding using the resources of the NWF [National Welfare Fund]. Right now, as part of the federal project, we actually want to significantly increase the new program to stimulate demand, possibly by redistributing resources within the project in order to focus our attention specifically on stimulating demand for vessels being built," Karimov said at the transport session at the Innoprom exhibition.
Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said last week that the subsidized leasing program in shipbuilding will be relaunched in 2026.
"We were unable to launch the program this year due to the current budget situation. We will submit it for funding to begin next year," Alikhanov said.
At a meeting on developing river transport in June 2023, President Vladimir Putin proposed expanding the civilian shipbuilding program with a focus on building a passenger fleet. Following the meeting, he instructed the government to make a decision by March 2024 on allocating funds from the NWF starting in 2025 for the civilian shipbuilding subsidized leasing program.
The Industry Ministry planned to develop and present an updated financial model for passenger shipbuilding in 2024, taking into account plans to increase the number of vessels and raise additional NWF funds. The launch of the expanded program was scheduled for 2025.
The federal project until 2030 envisages the construction of 638 vessels of various types, as well as transitioning to domestically produced ship components, Karimov said.
The project includes expanding the passenger fleet, and over the past five years, around 70 passenger vessels have been built to service regular and tourist transportation, he said. This includes three cruise ships launched, with nine more under construction for delivery by 2026, six catamarans built with eight more contracted, and 33 electric passenger vessels produced, with plans to expand this program.
"In total, the industry's current order portfolio for excursion, high-speed and scheduled passenger vessels just for 2025-2026 amounts to about 80 units," he said.
Russia's total demand for cargo vessels until 2030 is estimated at 1,900 ships, including 1,400 for inland water transport and 500 for maritime transport, Deputy Transport Minister Vladimir Poteshkin said. Given the expected growth in river passenger transportation by 2030, 430 passenger vessels with capacity from 120 seats will be required, he said.
"Particularly in demand today are large-capacity dry cargo vessels of river-sea class, as well as passenger ships for cruise, tourist and regular transportation," he said.
Russia expanded its transportation geography in 2025, and the Transport Ministry expects that on 14 subsidized routes, eight hydrofoil vessels will transport around 52,000 passengers, Poteshkin said.
