All kinds of ships are needed – Business – Kommersant

The government is considering encouraging Russian companies to purchase large-capacity vessels, including foreign-made ones. We are talking about subsidizing the rate on loans that will serve Russian export-import flows, while importing a vessel and registering it in the Russian register will not be necessary. According to experts, the Russian Federation needs a wide range of various and non-domestic vessels. Market participants hope that the document will not come into conflict with the existing measures to support shipbuilding, and its effect will not be limited to the fleet for oil and oil products.

The state can subsidize banks to provide loans for the purchase and charter of ships. As reported in the draft government decree (Kommersant saw the document), subsidies are allocated to the bank so that it can provide a preferential loan at a rate of 4%. The state is ready to subsidize up to 9 percentage points of the difference between the commercial and preferential rates, and if the key rate of the Central Bank rises above 10%, then the amount of the benefit may be higher than 4% until the situation changes.

Money can be provided for the leasing and acquisition of ownership (including construction) of cargo ships and containers. Vessels and containers can be used for export and import shipments.

It is not necessary to import the ship itself into the Russian Federation and register it in the domestic registry.

Also, the preferential rate may apply to the receipt of ships and containers for possession or use, including under new time charter agreements, to ensure export and import from the Russian Federation, and to the purchase of long-term services of sea line operators under contracts for the export of goods.

Subsidies can also be used to offset part of the premium under export and import credit insurance contracts. The actual amount of the subsidy for the project cannot exceed 15% of the total mass of benefits (its amount is not specified in the document). In the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Kommersant’s questions were forwarded to the Ministry of Transport, where they declined to comment.

After the outbreak of hostilities and the imposition of sanctions, the market for both the purchase and charter of ships for Russian exporters has noticeably narrowed. In the coal industry, the availability of large-capacity vessels fell by the third quarter to 30% of the pre-crisis level, since 70% of the large-capacity fleet is owned by companies in Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan and Singapore. In December, the EU embargo on Russian oil will come into force, which will not only prevent the sale of raw materials to the countries of the bloc, but will also deprive Russian companies of access to the services of European shipowners, brokers and insurers for oil export operations to third countries.

Market participants asked for subsidies for the purchase of ships. In particular, Andrei Severilov, head of the board of directors of Fesco, spoke about this in an interview with Kommersant: “We are considering the possibility of building a fleet at Chinese and Russian shipyards and have repeatedly requested support in the form of subsidizing the construction of a fleet or providing other forms of support” (see “Kommersant” of September 6). At the same time, sources in the industry told Kommersant that state subsidies for the purchase of ships have a downside: foreign contractors, even from neutral countries, may not be ready to deal with Russian state funds for fear of sanctions.

One of Kommersant’s sources says that the volume of subsidies should be very large, so that when 15% of the total amount is allocated for one project, the preferential percentage could cover the cost of purchasing a large vessel – namely, they are now in need.

Another interlocutor of Kommersant notes that the draft resolution is as interesting as it is crude, and so far it has not been worked out with specialized industry associations. In his opinion, it is very important to specify which ones can be purchased, since industry meetings primarily talk about the need to purchase vessels of increased deadweight, ocean-going vessels such as Capesize, Panamax, etc., which are not manufactured in the Russian Federation.

It is important, Kommersant’s interlocutor believes, that the current measures to support Russian shipbuilding and the purchase of Russian ships do not conflict with this document. He also notes that subsidizing credit organizations is good in itself, but the financial situation of many industries has noticeably deteriorated, and with falling financial indicators, it is not very easy to pass a credit committee at a bank.

It is necessary to prescribe leasing subsidies in more detail – it is easier to take a lease than put it on your balance sheet

According to him, when it comes to subsidizing freight, it is necessary to separately stipulate which countries and which cargo. It is important that cargo is not limited to oil only and that access to credit funds is equal and transparent, he believes.

The head of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, believes that the introduction of subsidies for the purchase of ships is an absolutely reasonable, sound decision. It is obvious that in the face of unprecedented sanctions pressure, freight rates will increase, while Russia has modern ports in the Baltic, but there is no market in Europe, and it is clear that export routes will now be very long. “And then there are two options: either we will go to a completely marginal zone and everything will depend on obscure ship owners in obscure jurisdictions, or we will stimulate the opportunity for Russian business, including offshore, to finance the expansion of the fleet,” says Mikhail Burmistrov. He emphasizes that all types of large-tonnage vessels are needed: from container ships to tankers and bulk carriers.

Natalya Skorlygina, Tatiana Dyatel