German and Russian shipyards compete for Gazprom order

The contract is estimated to be worth RUB 16 billion (US$500 million), and the ships would be delivered in 2017/2018.

According to analysts of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, in addition to Vyborg Shipyard, foreign yards are among other bidders, in particular Nordic Yards, which recently signed a contract with Rosmorport, (an enterprise that coordinates Russian marine transport infrastructure development) to build a deck superstructure for a diesel-electric icebreaker. However, due to recent deterioraton of relations between Russia and Western countries, there is a possibility that the Vyborg Shipyard wil be the preferred bidder.

At the same there is a possibility that, in addition to domestic shipyards, some contracts for building offshore and other vessels for Russian oil and gas companies may be placed with South Korean and Chinese yards, many of which have expressed an increased interest to Russian projects in recent months.