Russian defense ministry to open a tender on helicopter carrier

19.08.2010 United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) which board of directors is headed by Vice Premier Igor Sechin drew an open tender on helicopter carrier for Russian Navy from defense ministry, writes Kommersant on Thursday. This means that Russian Ministry of Defense renounced an idea of non-competitive procurement of French carrier Mistral (approximate price in France is 340-420 mln euro) and will consider other proposals of analogous ships, including those of USC shipyards which offer to build a carrier for $500-700 mln. According to the newspaper, one of the tender favorites would be Mezhprombank shipyards subordinated to Sergei Pugachev.

Defense ministry recently informed the corporation about intentions to hold open international tender on helicopter carrier for Russian Navy, reports Kommersant citing Roman Trotsenko, the president of USC.

Not only foreign but Russian shipyards will be also allowed to compete in the tender. A special board from the Ministry of Trade and Industry will set the list of contenders, define selection criterion, conditions and terms of the tender.

The newspaper's source in defense ministry affirmed that the procurement of helicopter carrier will be held through tender. Without competition, the transaction "would be practically illegal", explained the source.

USC has been striving for an open tender for recent six months and even complained to the Federal Anti-monopoly Service.

According to Trotsenko, USC will be represented in the tender with three shipyards – Zvezda (Far East), Admiralteyskie Verfi (St. Petersburg), and Yantar (Kaliningrad). Zvezda shipyard has already established a joint venture with S Korean concern Daewoo Marine Shipbuilding & Engineering and will offer defense ministry to buy S Korean heli-carrier Dokdo at the tender.

Admiralteyskie Verfi and Yantar will take part in the tender along with Northern Design Bureau (USC member), says Trotsenko without disclosing what project they will present.

A ship can be also built in cooperation with a foreign shipyard, say the Kommersant's sources in USC. S Korean Dokdo is not the only alternative to Mistral; other options are Dutch Johan de Witt and Spanish Juan Carlos, wrote Mr. Sechin to Russian premier Vladimir Putin in spring (the letter is at the newspaper's disposal).

Irrespective of which project will defense ministry finally choose, USC shipyards are capable to build the ship within 30 months, says Trotsenko.

The newspaper's sources in defense ministry state that subordinated to Mezhprombank shipyards Severnaya Verf or Baltiysky Zavod will definitely attend the tender. Representative of Mezhprombank affirmed on Wednesday that the bank was about to compete.

The Kommersant's sources at market are sure that shipyards of Mezhprombank will be favorites among the Russian candidates. As they say, the Mezhprombank's owner Sergei Pugachev initially was a principal lobbyist of the Mistral deal. With potential building of ships in Russia, he will try to load his yards with orders. And defense ministry is "entirely on the Pugachev's side in the Mistral procurement issue", say sources of the newspaper.

Experts presume that the order will most likely fall to Baltiysky Zavod shipyard, since Severnaya Verf is workloaded with corvettes and frigates. USC holds negotiations on buying both yards from Mezhprombank, although the parties have not agreed on the transaction price so far, reminds the newspaper.