UZK has so far abandoned plans to purchase used bulk carriers abroad, Kommersant writes, citing a source familiar with the discussion of the issue. In this regard, work on support mechanisms in the form of preferential leasing or credit and compensation for part of the costs of purchasing used ships on the world market has also been suspended, he says. According to him, such information is contained in the November report of the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov to President Vladimir Putin.
As Kommersant’s interlocutor explained, in 2024, UZK determined a list of used ships that it was going to purchase, but due to deterioration in macroeconomic indicators, the purchase was stopped. Corresponding changes are now being made to the strategy for the formation of the UGC merchant fleet.
The issue of state support can be returned to only after clarification of UZK’s plans regarding the possibility of acquiring ships and approval of applications by the government commission.
The government has been developing a system of subsidizing the purchase of ships to support exports since 2022, when the available fleet was sharply reduced due to sanctions factors. Options were considered for subsidizing banks to provide preferential loans for leasing and purchasing cargo ships and containers at 4% with subsidizing up to 9 percentage points of the difference between commercial and preferential rates. In 2023, a ten-year program for the purchase of 85 ships, mainly bulk carriers, was discussed, for which banks were expected to pay 164 billion rubles, and the state would subsidize 70 billion rubles.
Director of the Price Index Center (PIC) Roman Sokolov says that since 2009, the order book for new bulk carriers has been steadily declining and by the end of 2025, the deadweight of ships expected to be commissioned had dropped to 11% of the current fleet size (the same figure in the container segment is about 35% in TEU). “By the beginning of 2026, a five-year-old vessel was on average offered on the secondary market for 93% of the cost of a new one, while since the beginning of 2025, the price of new bulk carriers has decreased by an average of 3%, and for vessels of five years ago has increased by 4%,” he emphasizes. In light of the relatively low difference in the cost of construction and purchase on the secondary market, Mr. Sokolov continues, the main factor in choosing a strategy for increasing the fleet was the delivery time of new ships: a bulk carrier laid down at the shipyard today will be handed over to the customer, depending on the size, in two to three years, while purchasing on the secondary market will ensure the immediate appearance of the fleet.
“In this context, the operational freight market situation comes first,” explains the analyst. According to him, in the first half of 2025, the CCI freight indices, which reflect the cost of grain transportation in the Azov-Black Sea basin, were under strong pressure due to a decrease in the cargo base. With the onset of the new season (in June 2025), the cost of maritime logistics overcame the negative trend, but did not return to the highs of 2024, says Mr. Sokolov. In such conditions, he continues, expanding carrying capacity would increase pressure on freight and on the fleet's payback. A Kommersant source on the market believes that the previously existing problem with chartering ships has been generally resolved: “The rates are quite moderate, and the economic situation is not favorable for additional expenses.” The OZK did not provide any comments.
Plans for the construction of new bulk carriers have changed little from those discussed last summer. The needs of the three largest grain exporters until 2035 are estimated at 61 vessels: 27 Handysize vessels (40 thousand tons deadweight) and 34 Supramax (60 thousand tons). To ensure the payback of transportation and the competitiveness of grain, bulk carriers, as exporters have calculated, should cost up to 5.5 billion rubles. at a leasing rate of 4–5% per annum. To meet these needs, negotiations were held with Chinese shipyards, which gave a price four times lower than the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). The construction of the first batch of ten bulk carriers in China under the supervision of USC was considered. USC declined to comment. Rosagroleasing did not answer Kommersant’s questions.
According to a Kommersant source, two Chinese shipyards have expressed their readiness to build bulk carriers with a deadweight of 63 thousand tons. The construction period for the lead ship according to the Chinese project is 16–21 months, followed by serial ships with a cycle of 3 months. The cost of building the ships is $33–36 million (RUB 2.49–2.72 billion at the Central Bank exchange rate as of January 31, 2025). But when built according to a Russian project under the supervision of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the price increases by 10–25%, the construction period of the lead vessel is 10–12 months. Negotiations are ongoing, a Kommersant source said.
Source: https://www.zerno.ru/node/32300