The government is considering encouraging Russian companies to purchase large-capacity ships, including foreign-made ones. It is a question of subsidizing the rate on loans that will serve Russian export-import flows, while it will not be necessary to import a ship and register it in the Russian register. According to experts, the Russian Federation needs a wide range of various and non-domestic vessels. Market participants hope that the document does not conflict with existing measures to support shipbuilding and that its effects are not limited to the oil and petroleum products fleet.
The state can subsidize banks to provide loans for the purchase and rental of ships. As reported in the draft government decree (Kommersant saw the document), subsidies are allocated to the bank so that it can provide a soft loan at the rate of 4%. The state is ready to subsidize up to 9 percentage points of the difference between the commercial rate and the preferential rate, and if the central bank’s key rate exceeds 10%, the amount of the benefit could be more than 4% until the situation changes.
Money can be provided for the rental and acquisition of ownership (including construction) of merchant ships and containers. Ships and containers can be used for export and import shipments.
It is not necessary to import the ship itself into the Russian Federation and register it in the national register.
In addition, the preferential tariff can be applied to the receipt of ships and containers for possession or use, including under new time charter agreements, to guarantee export and import from the Russian Federation, and for the ” purchase of long-term services from shipping line operators under contracts for the export of goods.
Subsidies can also be used to offset part of the premium under export and import credit insurance contracts. The actual grant amount for the project cannot exceed 15% of the total mass of benefits (its amount is not specified in the document). At the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Kommersant’s questions were forwarded to the Ministry of Transportation, where they declined to comment.
After the outbreak of hostilities and the imposition of sanctions, the market for both the purchase and rental of ships for Russian exporters has shrunk significantly. In the coal industry, the availability of large-capacity vessels fell in the third quarter to 30% of the pre-crisis level, as 70% of the large-capacity fleet is owned by companies in Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan and Singapore. In December, the EU embargo on Russian oil will come into effect, which will not only prevent the sale of raw materials to the countries of the bloc, but will also deprive Russian companies of access to the services of European shipowners, brokers and insurers for operations export of oil to third countries.
Market participants asked for subsidies for the purchase of ships. In particular, Andrei Severilov, head of the board of directors of Fesco, spoke about it in an interview with Kommersant: “We are evaluating the possibility of building a fleet at Chinese and Russian shipyards and we have repeatedly requested support in the form of grants to build a fleet or provide other forms of support “(see “Kommersant” of 6 September). At the same time, industry sources told Kommersant that state subsidies for the purchase of ships have a disadvantage: foreign contractors, even from neutral countries, may not be ready to face Russian state funds for fear of sanctions.
One of Kommersant’s sources states that the volume of grants should be very high, so that when 15% of the total amount is allocated to a project, the preferential percentage could cover the cost of purchasing a large ship, i.e. say they need it now.
Another Kommersant interlocutor notes that the draft resolution is as interesting as it is crude, and has not so far been drafted with specialized industry associations. In his opinion, it is very important to specify which ones can be purchased, as sector meetings mainly talk about the need to purchase larger deadweight ships, ocean-going vessels such as Capesize, Panamax, etc., which are not manufactured in the Russian Federation.
It is important, Kommersant’s interlocutor believes, that the current measures in support of Russian shipbuilding and the purchase of Russian ships do not conflict with this document. He also notes that subsidizing credit organizations is good in itself, but the financial situation of many sectors has deteriorated significantly, and with financial indicators declining, it is not very easy to get a credit committee to pass through a bank.
It is necessary to prescribe subsidies for leasing in more detail – it is easier to take a lease than to put it in your budget
According to him, when it comes to subsidizing freight transport, it is necessary to establish separately which countries and which cargo. It is important that the cargo is not limited to oil alone and that access to credit funds is equal and transparent, he believes.
The head of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, believes that introducing subsidies for the purchase of ships is an absolutely reasonable and healthy decision. It is obvious that in the face of unprecedented pressure from sanctions, transport tariffs will rise, while Russia has modern ports in the Baltic, but there is no market in Europe, and it is clear that export routes will now be very long. “And then there are two options: either we will go to a completely marginal area and everything will depend on obscure shipowners in obscure jurisdictions, or we will stimulate the opportunity for Russian companies, even offshore, to finance the expansion of the fleet,” says Mikhail Burmistrov. . He points out that all types of large tonnage ships are needed: from container ships to tankers and bulk carriers.
