Yachting dispute: a tourist zone may take the place of a defense plant in Baltiysk

Plans to build a yacht marina on the territory of a ship repair company have attracted criticism from Navy veterans

Plans to move the workshops of the 33rd shipyard from Russian Island in Baltiysk for the construction of a yacht marina caused a negative reaction in the naval environment. The Kaliningrad Region Development Corporation announced its intentions to create a tourist zone with hotels and shopping centers on the site of the defense enterprise the day before. Navy veterans are confident that in conditions when the region is surrounded by NATO countries, the ship repair capacity of the Baltic Fleet cannot be weakened even temporarily. The details of the controversial project and the positions of the parties are in the Izvestia material.

A tourist zone instead of a ship repair plant in Baltiysk

Officials who want to demolish the workshops of the 33rd shipyard on Russian Island for the construction of a yacht marina are "not our people," - this is how the former chief of staff of the Baltic Fleet, Vice Admiral Alexander Brazhnik, commented on the resonant plans to create a tourist zone in Baltiysk.

The day before, the head of the Kaliningrad Region Development Corporation, Andrei Tolmachev, said that the capacities of the 33rd plant located on the island were proposed to be brought to the mainland, and the vacated territory given over to a tourist project with hotels, offices and places for trade. "An interesting project. And the creation of a yacht marina is possible in the water area," he said.

33rd Ship Repair plant in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region

Image source: Photo: TASS/Vitaly Nevar

— All those who infringe on the 33rd plant want to earn more money, — Alexander Brazhnik reacted to these plans. — And the 33rd plant is needed by the fleet. It is impossible to treat ship repair and shipbuilding lightly. The plant must not be touched. This is not a government approach, I speak as a citizen, not even as a sailor. Now is definitely not the time to deal with such matters as the transfer of ship repair facilities to a new location. Finally, we need to think about people — we need jobs. Highly qualified specialists work at the plant.

Currently, the 33rd Shipyard is part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) and performs work in the interests of the Baltic Fleet.

The USC press service responded to a request from Izvestia about the possible postponement of part of the 33rd SRZ: "We are aware of the plans of the Kaliningrad Region administration to create a yacht marina on Russian Island. This issue has been discussed with us."

For more detailed information, representatives of the corporation advised to contact the Kaliningrad Region Development Corporation. Izvestia sent a request there, but no response was received at the time of submission of the material.

Admiral's opinion

Most Navy veterans interviewed by Izvestia believe that now is not the time to build yacht marinas on the site of ship repair plants.

"The plant is designed to repair ships and vessels of the Baltic Fleet," said Admiral Viktor Chirkov, ex—commander of the Baltic Fleet and ex—commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy. — Historically, it was created to quickly and effectively solve the tasks of ensuring the technical readiness of the fleet. It is realistic to rebuild a new modern production facility in the interests of the Baltic Fleet. But there are questions regarding the proximity of the marina and the warships. For example, how to organize the safety of the fleet in today's conditions?

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov

Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Nikolsky

The Admiral believes that in this story, priority should be given to the interests of the Baltic Fleet.

— The decision must be made in the interests of warships, as well as Navy vessels and their technical readiness. And to do this at the level of the commander of the Baltic Fleet, the commander—in-chief of the Navy, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, because the plant has historically solved tasks in the interests of the country's defense," Viktor Chirkov stressed.

Military expert, captain of the first rank Vasily Dandykin, considers the possible transfer of the ship repair plant for the construction of a yacht marina to be untimely.

— It's time to repair ships — the international situation is like this, — he is sure. — The situation in the Baltic is very difficult. Estonians and Finns have become more active, discussing plans to close the Gulf of Finland. In the Baltic, we need to strengthen the fleet, which protects the Kaliningrad Special Area and St. Petersburg. Ships that have risen due to breakdowns will not add to his strength.

The expert noted that the top military and political leadership pays the closest attention to the fleet.

"There's a lot of work right now," he says. — The main thing for us is to win. And we could use all our strength. For example, I would arm all suitable yachts and send them to the fleet. There are probably as many of them as there are pennants in the Russian Navy, and they can be useful. The writer Hemingway used his yacht to catch German submarines in the Caribbean Sea during World War II. Unfortunately, not everyone understands that the enemy, having come to us, will take the yachts, will not regret it. There is no doubt about it.

At the same time, the former commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Vladimir Valuev, holds a less categorical point of view. In his opinion, the transfer of part of the plant from Russian Island to Baltiysk, in order to create a tourist zone on the island, is technically possible, but requires careful analysis and planning.

— It is necessary to analyze and weigh the benefits of this event, — he noted. — By and large, it is possible, but it takes time and requires financial investments.

The Admiral stressed that the transfer of the plant should be carried out not at the expense of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but at the expense of the department planning to develop tourism on the island.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Anna Selina

Image source: iz.ru

The 33rd plant performs routine repairs of ships and vessels and the transfer of part of the plant will require the relocation of equipment, but it is unlikely that it will not affect the combat readiness of the fleet, he believes.

— The plant is not shipbuilding, but ship repair, — said the ex-commander. — It is possible to make sure that the most specialized repairs are postponed first, and then the rest.

What is being done at the 33rd ship repair plant

Currently, the 33rd plant repairs military and special purpose ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers and research vessels, as well as boats. It has serious production facilities. In particular, it owns two autonomous floating docks (PD-8 and PD-33), each with a lifting capacity of up to 4.5 thousand tons and allows lifting vessels up to 125 meters long.

View of the Gulf of Finland in St. Petersburg

Image source: Photo: TASS/Vladimir Smirnov

In addition, the plant has equipped berths for off-shore repairs with a total length of more than 1.5 km and a depth of up to eight meters, as well as gantry cranes with a lifting capacity of up to 32 tons.

The company is located at a strategically important geographical point — in the center of sea transport routes from St. Petersburg, the Baltic States and Scandinavia to Western European ports.

Fyodor Gorbunov

Andrey Fedorov