The Government of Russia has launched a large-scale domestic shipbuilding plan with the objective of constructing 4,271 merchant vessels of various types by 2050, local news agency Interfax reported on Monday, May 12.
First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in a recent meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other deputy ministers that the plan entails the construction of 1,637 new civilian ships by 2036 and the remaining 2,634 ships from 2037 to 2050.
The vessels will be slated for deployment on the Northern Sea Route and the sea lanes within the 7,200-kilometre North-South Transport Corridor that connects the Caspian Sea to the other vital trade lanes in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf.
Construction will focus on large-capacity vessels including crude and gas carriers, bulk carriers and containerships, though other vessels such as icebreakers, ferries, and fishing vessels will also be included.
Mr Manturov confirmed that the government will invest an initial amount of RUB500 billion (US$6 billion) over the next six years to support the modernisation of the country's shipbuilding industry.