Russia transfers USC ownership to VTB Bank

The Motorship reported in August 2022 that the direct effect of the imposition of sanctions on imports of foreign technologies, as well as the wider consequences of the imposition of financial restrictions on Russian enterprises had heavily impacted Russia’s civilian shipbuilding sector.  

United Shipbuilding Corporation was preparing a plan for the financial recovery of some of its domestic shipyards in August 2022, while lobbying for the provision of soft loans for domestic shipbuilders at concessionary interest rates.

President Putin ackowledged some of the financial pressures affecting USC during the meeting. “I have strong [expectations] that your specialists… will cope with all these tasks [to develop the corporation]. Certainly, this is a challenge without any exaggeration. This is a serious matter, this is the entire branch,” Putin noted.

According to official state data, the Russian civil shipbuilding sector declined by 43% year-on-year basis to 273,000 gross tons in 2021. 2022 output levels for civilian shipbuilding are understood to have recorded a double-digit decline on 2021 levels.