Russia to Build Arctic Vessels at Zvezda Shipyard

Billions are being invested in the Zvezda yard outside Vladivostok to make it capable of meeting Russia’s growing demand for ice-protected ships and platforms.

The Zvezda yard will be a centerpiece in Russian industrial developments in the region. Here, few kilometers from the borders to North Korea and China, a key part of Russia’s future oil and gas industry is likely to be shaped.  The new top-modern yard will be able produce the full range of oil and gas-related installations, among them up to 350.000 dwt tankers, LNG carriers, ice-protected ships, drilling rigs and production platforms.

The new construction facilities will be based on the existing, aging yard with the same name located in the Bolshoy Kamen and Pyat Okhotnikov Bays outside Vladivostok. Zvezda was for decades one of Russia’s key sites for construction and repair of nuclear submarines. Now, the sub repairs have all been moved to Sevmash outside Arkhangelsk, while Zvezda is transformed into a non-military yard. 

The total price tag of the Zvezda project is estimated to more than 100 billion roubles (€2,14 billion) and construction works are to be completed in 2018, the company informs.

The yard is part of the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center (FESRC).

Copyright, Barents Observer, 2014.