Russia plans shipbuilding foray in India: First Deputy PM Manturov

Russia is exploring joint production of Arctic-class vessels in India, deepening maritime and logistics cooperation as cargo flows rise across the Chennai-Vladivostok and North-South corridors

Russia is exploring joint production of polar-class vessels in India, the country’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov has said, a plan which, once realised, could give a fillip to India’s domestic shipbuilding sector.

 

“The organisation of joint production of Arctic-class vessels could become a promising area of cooperation,” Manturov told Russian state-owned media house Sputnik India.

 

Russia is among the leaders in polar cargo vessel manufacturing, which are equipped with ice-breaking technology to weather harsh conditions in the Arctic.

 

Manturov also said that talks have been going on with India’s ministry of ports shipping and waterways in this regard.

 

The move assumes significance in view of a mutual understanding of increasing trade through two India-Russia maritime routes including the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Eastern maritime corridor connecting Vladivostok to Chennai.

 

Russia and India seek to establish a stable Eurasian Transport Framework, he said.

 

India has also been involved in discussions over the Northern Sea Route with melting of the arctic ice in the past opening up new possibilities for shipping routes through the northern coast of Russia, and the rise in Indian cargo handled in northern Russia.

 

The India-Russia Joint Working Group (JWG) has been in nascent talks on the shipbuilding proposal, with Russian transport and logistics conglomerate Delo Group being among the players interested in establishing presence in India through joint ventures, a shipping ministry official said.

 

“The matter has been discussed in the last India-Russia JWG meeting. So far, the talks on the government end have been very nascent but the players may be individually approaching private shipyards for collaborations,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

 

The shipping ministry has not received any firm proposal for joint ventures with Indian state-owned shipyards so far.

 

Cochin Shipyard has been a beneficiary of the early shipbuilding push as one of India’s largest yards. Earlier this year, it secured a letter of intent from French carrier CMA CGM for six dual-fuel container vessels.

 

In June, state-owned Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Norway’s Kongsberg Oslo signed a memorandum of understanding which paved the way for India to build its first-ever Polar Research Vessel (PRV) indigenously.

 

Currently, the two countries have operationalised the eastern corridor between Chennai and Vladivostok.

 

“Key commodities on this route have primarily been crude oil and coking coal, and talks are on to expand the cargo base,” the official added.