Russian-Ukrainian shipbuilding project is on the verge of extinction

21.10.2010 Talks on establishment of joint Russian-Ukrainian shipbuilding company have been suspended, said Ukrainian prime minister Nikolai Azarov at the press conference.

Major difficulty in negotiations is that is is impossible to workload the joint venture fully while even Russian shipyards realize only one third of their capabilities.

"Now we're holding talks on creation of joint shipbuilding venture. At first, everybody was enthusiastic, and Vladimir Putin gave a command to hunt down this issue. But it turned out that Russian shipyards are one-third workloaded. So, the situation is complicated in principle", said Azarov.

According to Ukrsudprom association, if current trends in Ukrainian shipbuilding industry go on, in 5-10 years only two or three shipyards will barely survive in Ukraine. Also, Ukrainian shipbuilders counted on the fact that joint work with Russian counterparts would help to earn money and build new warships for Ukrainian Navy. As for now, construction of Ukraine's first corvette is nearly frozen due to lack of financing.

According to Viktor Lisitsky, Vice President of Ukrainian association of shipbuilders Ukrsudprom, cooperation with Russia is vital for Ukraine.

"Currently being in more than a miserable state, Ukrainian shipyards used to be only a part of Soviet marine industry. The reality is that throughout years of Ukraine's independence none of its yards has displayed optimistic results of self-sustained development and any prosperity either. Simply speaking, it is impossible to revive anything in conditions when most Ukrainian politicians are bribetakers", said Lisitsky.

As was previously reported, there were plans to establish joint venture on the basis of Chernomorsky Shipyard (Nikolayev) within the framework of Russian-Ukrainian shipbuilding partnership. Apart from Chernomorsky Shipyard, the joint venture was supposed to include Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation and a number of Ukrainian companies.