The newspaper "Kommersant" in the material of Polina Smertina and Tatiana Dyatel "Icebreakers are being wiped from the budget. The authorities will reduce the financing of their construction by 10 billion rubles," she said that the Government of the Russian Federation in the budget for 2024-2026 proposes to cut the funds allocated for the construction of nuclear icebreakers. Financing of the lead heavy-duty icebreaker "Leader" [project 10510, LK-120YA] may decrease by 5 billion rubles in three years, and two new serial icebreakers of the LK-60YA project [project 22220] - by 4 billion rubles. The reduction in funding is taking place against the background of a sharp increase in the cost of projects: according to Kommersant, serial icebreakers may double in price, the cost of the Leader may increase by 60%, to about 200 billion rubles, and the timing of its launch may shift to the end of 2029. Rosatom will have to look for additional sources of financing for these projects, including loans, which will probably lead to an increase in tariffs for cargo transportation along the Northern Sea Route.
The status of the project 10510 nuclear icebreaker "Russia" (LC-120YA, cipher "Leader") under construction at LLC "Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex" in Bolshoy Kamen (Primorsky Krai) on 13.10.2023 (s) frame from the webcam of FSUE "Atomflot"
Financing for the construction of new nuclear icebreakers may be reduced by almost 10 billion rubles in three years, follows from the published draft budget for 2024-2026. In particular, the funds allocated for the construction of the lead heavy-duty icebreaker Leader (120 MW) will decrease by 5.24 billion rubles, for the third and fourth serial icebreakers of the Arctic type (60 MW) under construction - by 0.56 billion rubles, for the fifth LC-60 - by 2.36 billion rubles, for the sixth - by 1.36 billion rubles . It is also proposed to reduce the financing of the construction of a nuclear technological maintenance vessel (used for fuel transshipment) by 0.91 billion rubles.
The volume of budget financing of the Leader for 2022-2027 is 99 billion rubles, the third and fourth LC for 2022-2026 is a total of 16.5 billion rubles, follows from the development plan of the Northern Sea Route until 2035, which was published in August 2022. The cost of the nuclear technology vessel is 24.8 billion rubles, the fifth LC is 56.6 billion rubles, and the sixth is 61.3 billion rubles.
Rosatom did not comment on the figures indicated in the draft budget, noting that "the construction of icebreakers will continue, the deadlines for the implementation of projects are regulated by regulatory legal acts of the government and concluded state contracts." The Ministry of Finance ignored the request of Kommersant.
The reduction of budget financing for the creation of nuclear icebreakers is taking place against the background of their significant rise in price, which has been repeatedly stated publicly in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, without giving details.
According to Kommersant, the fifth and sixth LC-60 may rise in price at least twice the price of the state contract. The total cost of the state contract for the construction of the Leader can grow by 70 billion rubles, up to 199.6 billion rubles, and the delivery time of the vessel at the Zvezda shipyard can be shifted by two years, sources familiar with the results of the July meeting with Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov told Kommersant. Atomflot signed a state contract for the construction of the Leader in April 2020, the completion date is December 2027.
Rosatom, based on the results of the technical and economic expertise conducted by the Center for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Technology, had until June 30 to submit to the Ministry of Industry and Trade a report on the overall increase in the duration and cost of construction of the Leader. Further, the change in the terms of the state contract will need to be agreed with the government, and Rosatom should send proposals to the government on a scheme for financing the project, the interlocutors of Kommersant say.
A source familiar with the discussion says that the task is to minimize budget financing for the construction of an icebreaker fleet, and the need to use extra-budgetary funds is being discussed.
According to him, at the expense of these funds, it is proposed to finance the construction of vessels of the Leader project. It is planned to ensure the payback of the project and the return of the funds raised by increasing demand and increasing the efficiency of icebreaking wiring services (ensuring commercial speed and predictability of deadlines). Perhaps, when implementing this model, the cost of the icebreaking service will have to be multiplied relative to the current values, says the interlocutor of Kommersant.
One of the ways to attract investment in the construction of icebreakers is to search for private partners and investors, says Nadezhda Malysheva from Portnews. In her opinion, co-investors can be companies from among the shippers interested in ice wiring, which can attract money from Russian or foreign financial institutions. Significantly changing the tariff for ice wiring is a more difficult path politically, the analyst believes, since now the task is to attract foreign shipowners to the Northern Sea Route, including.
