Large enterprises of the shipbuilding industry, including the Kingisepp Shipbuilding Plant military Industrial Holding (part of the USC), have sent a collective letter to the Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov. According to Fontanka, they are asking to be saved from financial collapse, which threatens them after the department's demands to return previously allocated subsidies with huge fines; the total amount exceeds 1.1 billion rubles.
Three companies – St. Petersburg-based KMZ, Prohim (Orel region) and NPO Rechflot State Design Bureau (Nizhny Novgorod Region) – described the current situation as critical. All of them are recipients of subsidies under Government Decree No. 1872 for the development and import substitution of marine equipment: pumps, windlasses, anchors, gearboxes, and even ship laundresses.
Boat production of the Kingisepp Machine-building Plant
Mil.Press
Despite the fact that the work on the projects is nearing completion, and some products are already being used on the newest nuclear icebreakers of the 22220 project and frigates, the Ministry of Industry and Trade demanded a refund.
The refund amounts for the companies, it follows from the letter, look catastrophic. Thus, KMZ is required to return over 15% of the company's revenue over three years. For GCB Rechflot, the refund amount corresponds to almost 20% of the three-year revenue, Prohim must give 10%.
The main reasons for the delay, according to the companies, are the foreign policy situation and sanctions, which led to disruptions in supply chains and an increase in the cost of components. KMZ and Rechflot State Design Bureau submitted reasoned applications for postponement to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on time, providing all the documents.
However, as stated in the letter, the interdepartmental commission (IAC) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade refused them, while similar deferrals were agreed to other recipients of subsidies. This, according to the authors of the letter, indicates "non-compliance with the principle of uniformity."
The companies are asking the Ministry of Industry and Trade to allow them to finalize projects by the end of 2026 with the payment of all stipulated fines, but without refunding subsidies. They also propose to amend the regulations and allow companies to appeal the decisions of the IAC and resubmit applications for postponement. Otherwise, the authors of the letter warn, the fulfillment of the state defense order and federal import substitution programs in shipbuilding will be at risk, and the enterprises themselves may be on the verge of bankruptcy.
KMZ develops and supplies critically important marine components for the needs of civil shipbuilding as part of the implementation of the agreements of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1872, the Fontanka plant said. We are talking about pumps, anchors and windlasses.
The refund will significantly affect the financial stability of the company, the industry says.
"The possibility of an extension will improve the technical characteristics of mass–produced products," the company commented on the situation. "This will provide an opportunity to compete on an equal footing with foreign counterparts in order to ensure technological independence in the Russian shipbuilding industry."
KMZ Holding officially joined the United Shipbuilding Corporation in July of this year.
