Smart Maritime Group, part of Ukraine's Smart Holding, re-establishes ship repair works at Nikolaev shipyards
MOSCOW. Oct 19 (Interfax) - The shipbuilding company Smart Maritime Group (SMG), part of Smart Holding, after one and-a-half years, has resumed repairing ships at the Nikolaev shipyard facilities, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the holding's press service.
"The first "client" after the forced operational break was the Delta III, a tug built in 2006. SMG specialists perform its scheduled maintenance. The work don includes cleaning and painting the hull, and servicing the main mechanisms, including the engine and navigation system," the press release said.
The owner of the tug, Delta Tug LLC from Nikolaev, has been a regular client of Smart Maritime Group since 2020, ordering ship repair services for its fourth vessel.
According to the report, in 2021, SMG conducted modernization and repair work on almost 60 vessels, but in 2022, "it was forced to terminate previously concluded contracts, in particular for the construction of two hulls for a company from Holland, a full tug for a Ukrainian customer, and an agreement for the manufacture of metal structures."
"We cannot resume shipbuilding work; our foreign clients simply cannot reach us safely. But the resumption of repairs is already a good sign," Dmitry Krasnikov, CEO of Smart Maritime Group said.
The press service also said that additional difficulties for the business are coming from state pressure on Smart Holding.
"An imperfect sanctions policy has blocked the work of the holding's most profitable gas business, which makes it impossible to support other areas of the company's investment that are suffering losses, both physical and economic. Also, one-sided media coverage of the situation around the holding undermines the reputation, including that of its shipbuilders, which may have an impact on future contracts," the press service said.
SMG is the largest shipbuilding holding in Ukraine, and was founded in 2009 to manage the relevant assets of Smart Holding.