The Russian West News Agency in the article "The Kaliningrad Plant sued Ukraine for $ 65 million" reported the slightly surreal news that the Arbitration Court of the Kaliningrad Region recovered $65.1 million from the Ukrainian enterprise GP NPKG Zorya - Mashproekt (Nikolaev) in favor of PJSC Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar for the main power plants not delivered under the 2012 contract for three frigates of the 11356R project for the Russian Navy. However, this decision has a purely symbolic meaning in the light of the current circumstances. From the case materials, it is curious that the Russian side immediately 100% advanced the contract with the Nikolaev plant, thus eventually completely losing all the money.
Presumably, the second Tamala frigate (former Admiral Istomin, factory number 01361), which is being completed at PJSC Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar for the Indian Navy, is equipped with the M7N1 gas turbine main power plant manufactured by GP NPKG Zorya - Mashproekt (Nikolaev, Ukraine). Kaliningrad, December 2023 (c) Alexey Shabunin / ruwest.ru
On March 5, 2024, the Arbitration Court of the Kaliningrad Region put an end to the ancient legal history: 65.1 million US dollars were recovered from the enterprise located in Ukraine in favor of the Baltic Shipbuilding Plant Yantar.
The agreement between the Kaliningrad shipyard and the state enterprise "Scientific and Production Complex of gas turbine Construction "Zorya" -"Mashproekt" in the city of Nikolaev on Oktyabrsky Prospekt (now renamed Bogoyavlensky Prospekt), 42a, was concluded on October 9, 2012 on the supply of main gas turbine units for three orders 01360, 01361 and 01362 [Admiral Butakov frigates", "Admiral Istomin" and "Admiral Kornilov" of project 11356R for the Russian Navy]. Curiously, the trust in the contractor in Kaliningrad was so high that the entire amount, that is, all 65.1 million US dollars were transferred in advance to the city on the Southern Bug River.
In 2023, the court in Kaliningrad sent a notification of the trial to Ukraine through the Russian Ministry of Justice. But on November 13, 2023, the order for the delivery of court documents was returned on the grounds that since February 24, 2022, the reception and sending of correspondence to the territory of Ukraine have been temporarily suspended.
However, the court concluded that exhaustive measures to notify the enterprise in Nikolaev were taken. Although the contract stated that conflicts should be resolved by the economic at the location of the defendant, a higher power intervened in the case: In March 2022, the Russian government added Ukraine to the list of legal entities and individuals committing unfriendly acts against the Russian Federation. Therefore, the dispute was referred to the jurisdiction of the Russian court. Otherwise, I would have to go to Nikolaev and prove it there.
The Ukrainian company was supposed to deliver the turbines on different dates, starting in December 2014 and ending in December 2015. On December 7, 2021, a notification came from Nikolaev about the "suspension of the manufacture of goods due to force majeure circumstances."
The court's decision may be appealed. However, it is unclear how. It is also not entirely clear how the Yantar plant will be able to receive 65.1 million US dollars from Ukraine.
On the part of bmpd, we recall that, according to a press release published in February 2016 by the Nikolaev GP NPKG "Zorya" - "Mashproekt", this enterprise in October 2012 signed a contract with the Yantar Gas Turbine Plant for the supply of three sets of M7N gas turbine units for the second three Russian frigates of the modified project 11356. According to this contract, the Nikolaev enterprise should deliver the first set of units to Yantar in December 2014, and the second and third - in October-December 2015.
In June 2014, by order of the State Export Control Service of Ukraine, the permit for the export of military goods to the Russian Federation was suspended. In this regard, the work on the order for Yantar at the Zorya - Mashproekt NPKG was discontinued, and the ready-made set of units for the Admiral Butakov frigate (factory number 01360) was transferred to storage in Nikolaev.
Subsequently, two sets of EC (including the second completed one) in the execution of the M7N1 were purchased by the Indian side under a contract worth $ 76 million concluded with NPKG Zorya-Mashproekt in October 2019, for installation on the former frigates Admiral Butakov, Admiral Istomin, now being completed at the Yantar shipyard" for the Indian Navy under the 2016 agreement under the names Tushil and Tamala. The first of these EU sets was accepted by the Indian side in May 2020, and both sets were delivered to Kaliningrad. The first Tushil frigate completed for the Indian Navy (former Admiral Butakov, serial number 01360) was transferred to factory sea trials on March 5, 2024.