Russia’s sanctioned state shipyard group United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) says it will build four feeder vessels for a route linking the Middle East to Europe through the Caspian Sea.
USC chief executive Alexei Rakhmanov said construction will begin in March or April of next year.
According to PortNews and Business World Magazine, he told reporters at the 16th Transport of Russia forum that “allocations” for the project are foreseen under the “GTLK programme”, a reference to the sanctioned Russian state leasing company.
The ships will be designed for river and sea operation on the North-South corridor from Iran to St Petersburg.
The feeder units will have a capacity of 435 teu.
Work could take place at the USC yards Krasnoye Sormovo or Lotos.
"The first ship will be built for about a year, then we will deliver ships every three to four months," the CEO said.
“The customer asked for a multipurpose ship that can be used as a dry cargo carrier and a container carrier, hence a higher cost. Separate calculations are for a ‘pure’ container ship, which can take both standard containers and refrigerated ones for transportation of fruit, vegetables, meat and other perishables,” he added.
The US imposed sanctions on USC in April over military ships it claimed have probably been involved in attacking Ukraine.
Other USC yards include Baltic Shipyard, Admiralty Shipyard and Vyborg Shipyard.
In 2021, Rakhmanov and Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed a new container ship route from the Caspian Sea to northern Europe to cut out any congestion problems at the Suez Canal.
When questioned by Putin about the route, the CEO added that it is possible to load cargoes in Iran’s north or western China before taking them to Helsinki via Olya on the Russian Caspian Sea coast.
