Russian fishermen announced refusals to repair ships in European ports

Fishing companies have faced massive refusals from foreign ports to repair Russian vessels. Since domestic shipyards cannot serve this fleet,

Representatives of large fishing companies, as well as specialized associations, told RBC about the difficulties that have arisen in recent months with the repair of the fishing fleet.

In recent years, more than two-thirds of the large and medium-sized fleet (providing the majority of the catch) carried out scheduled and unscheduled repairs, as well as modernization at shipyards abroad, said German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries. We are talking about about 400 of the most modern and efficient ships, which domestic enterprises do not have the technical ability to repair. And foreign ports, after the start of a military special operation in Ukraine, refuse to serve ships from RUSSIA.

Can fishing boats call at European ports?

In early April, the European Union, as part of the fifth package of sanctions, banned ships flying the Russian flag from entering EU ports. Some non-EU countries also imposed the same sanctions : in April, the United States closed its ports for Russian ships , and Norway introduced such a restriction on May 7.

The restriction did not apply to the fishing fleet: an exception was made for ships that transport agricultural products, food and humanitarian aid.

Pollock miners warned about the risk of disruption of the catch due to Ukrainian vessels Economics

Russian fishermen who are mining in the Northern Basin, including the Barents Sea, faced refusals to service vessels, Sergey Sennikov, deputy DIRECTOR of the Norebo group, told RBC. He clarified: ship repair enterprises should be as close as possible to fishing areas, so the northern fleet was serviced in European countries: “Norway has a long coastline, so it’s easier to do it there, and delivery of spare parts to such ports is faster. Those who mine in the Northeast Atlantic and extract, for example, mackerel and blue whiting, did repairs in Poland or other European countries.”

Ships from the Northern and Western basins were serviced in Norway, Finland, Poland and the Baltic countries also because there is not a single large civil ship repair enterprise in the north today, Zverev adds. He confirms that ships are now facing rejection from foreign partners.

It is now impossible to repair in Poland, Norway also basically refuses. Norebo also has refusals, says Sennikov. According to him, this is not about sanctions restrictions - "this is the refusal of individual companies to service Russian ships and repair them, based on their ideas of political justice."

Read on RBC Pro Pro Why Long Sitting Doesn't Cause Lower Back Pain - Arguments From Harvard ArticlesPro Tax disputes: what to pay attention to right now Cases Pro How to remove sanctions from a person or company.Step by Step Instructions Pro Sleep 8 hours a day and be lazy:Jeff Bezos Healthy Habits Articles ProWhat's Happening With Social Media Advertising Articles Pro Live to 120:Why PAYPAL Co-Founder Takes Growth HormonePro Home Cardio Workout: Five Basic Exercises Instructionsfive basic exercises Instructionsfive basic exercises Instructions

Fish products are excluded from sanctions, but Russian ships can only unload products in ports, "the rest is impossible to do," says Alexei Osintsev, president of the Association of Fishing Fleet Owners. According to him, refusals to serve Russian courts come from individual companies, they are individual and often without explanation.

Pollack miners estimated losses at $400 million due to the closure of Chinese ports Business

In the Far East, ship repairs also took place in foreign ports - mainly in SOUTH KOREA and CHINA, says Dobroflot CEO Alexander Efremov. Russian fishermen have faced refusals to repair there for the past year and a half, but not because of sanctions, but because of the pandemic: “In order to be repaired in China, our ship went through 42 days of quarantine,” Efremov points out.

Rosrybolovstvo is also aware of individual cases of refusal to service Russian fishing vessels in foreign ports, RBC was told in its press service. The services of foreign ports, according to the department, are used by about 600 Russian ships, while not all ships receive denials of service. The department said that such cases are considered as "an example of a policy of double standards", which create "primarily a threat to the safety of navigation." Vessels that have been refused will be redirected to other ports, including domestic ones, the representative of the Federal Agency for Fishery added.

Russia ceased cooperation with Japan on fisheries Politics

Which fleet is fishing in Russia

Fishing in the main region of production - in the Far East - is carried out, according to the Association of Shipowners of the Fishing Fleet, 565 fishing vessels. Of these, 62% were built abroad. Most were purchased in Japan - 156, another 43 ships were bought in Norway, 28 - in Germany, 21 ships each - in South Korea and Ukraine, 20 - in Taiwan, 12 - in China, 11 - in Spain and ten - in Poland .

A third of the operating Far Eastern fishing fleet - 186 vessels - was built back in the USSR. But this fleet has been modernized: navigation and technological equipment, even on old trawlers, is now foreign, says Sennikov.

At the same time, the fleet in the Far East is outdated: according to a study by the Eastern Center for State Planning, 92% of ships are beyond the standard operating life (including ships of foreign construction). The maximum operating standard is 20 years, while the age of most Far Eastern ships is from 21 to 50 years.

In modern Russia, a fleet for fishermen was practically not built, recalls Sennikov. Now, according to the Association of Fishing Fleet Owners, only 29 Russian-built vessels operate in the Far East. In April of this year, the shipyards warned that they did not have time to build fishing vessels within the framework of the “keel quotas” program (when part of the quotas was given under the obligation to buy domestically built trawlers): problems with the delivery of vessels arose due to the fact that after the imposition of sanctions equipment for suppliers did not have time to arrive.

Gleb Frank sold the fishing and crab business Business

What threatens the problem with the repair of the fleet

There is no infrastructure in the Far East to provide the necessary services for the fishing fleet, says Alexei Buglak, President of the Pollack Catchers Association. According to him, the existing capacity can cover no more than 25-30% of the need for repairs at the docks (medium- and large-capacity vessels need it). There is an acute problem of a shortage of specialists in the repair and adjustment of electrical equipment and other modern equipment - there are practically none in Russia, and it is virtually impossible to “order” them from abroad in the current conditions, the expert adds.

Ship repair services in Russia are currently carried out by 57 organizations, the Federal Agency for Fishery specifies. The department acknowledges that there are “certain difficulties” with ship repair facilities.

SK opened a case after the death of three sailors on a fishing boat in Kamchatka Society

Fishing vessels are repaired every year - the volume and timing of repairs depend, among other things, on the objects of fishing, says Sennikov. The technical condition of the fleet may, according to him, lead to a decrease in the catch: repairs will take longer, the vessel will be idle, and in some cases refuse to go fishing. The deteriorating technical condition creates the possibility of an accident, "and these are people's lives," RBC's interlocutor adds.

The problem is complicated by the following circumstance: if a fishing company has an obligation to catch at least 70% of the quota allocated to it by the state for two years in a row and it does not master it, then it will automatically lose the quota.

Rising repair costs, as well as rising fuel costs, “will have a significant impact on the economic performance of enterprises,” warns Buglak of the Pollack Harvesters Association. Russian ship-repair companies "can't keep up, and repair prices have skyrocketed, which cannot but affect the price of fish in stores," adds Dobroflot's Yefremov.

The cost of repair work at Russian shipyards has grown by at least 20% - due to the increase in the cost of logistics for the supply of spare parts and the cost of attracting specialists, who are not enough, Osintsev confirms. This is reflected in the cost of fish products, but wholesale prices are formed differently, for them the most important factor is seasonality, Osintsev assures. Before the start of the fishing season, when there is no production, the price is as high as possible. Due to problems with repairs, ships may begin to go out of order, Osintsev does not exclude, but he does not see the risk of underfilling the quota by companies in the coming years, since new ships of Russian construction are entering into operation.

Russia's shipyards decide to build methanol-powered ships Business

The problems that may arise with the fleet are associated solely with the general transformation of supply chains and the supply of equipment, spare parts or paints, an optimistic representative of the Russian Fishing Company, the largest pollock harvester in Russia.

The situation with the repair of the Russian fishing fleet will only get worse, objected Zverev from the All-Russian Association of Fisheries. Of the 105 ultra-modern ships to be built by 2025 within the framework of investment quotas, the main part will be repaired abroad, since Russian shipyards are geared towards a small-tonnage fleet, Zverev draws attention. The possibilities of domestic ship repair, according to him, are limited, and those who advocate the speedy continuation of the construction of a large-tonnage fleet are investing in the development of foreign shipyards.

Zverev cites information from import customs declarations: the statistical cost of repairing 70 ships abroad in 2020 exceeded $119 million. According to the expert, it is important to stop the second wave of construction of supertrawlers and tackle the systemic problem of Russian fishing - dependence on foreign infrastructure. “We have repeatedly said that when building a fleet, it is important to consider where it will be serviced. Indeed, without high-quality and timely service, this fleet will not be able to work, which means that everything is in vain, ”Zverev sums up.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, which oversees the shipbuilding industry, reported in April that, together with the Ministry of Finance, it was working on the issue of abolishing VAT for the repair of civilian ships in order to support the industry in the face of sanctions. This measure is now being considered by the government, the ministry said. The Federal Agency for Fishery reported that together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the community of fishermen “outlined steps to create a competitive ship repair industry”: the industry development strategy until 2035 will be adjusted in order to increase the ship repair rate not two, but four times.