Government to Spend USD 300 Million on Science Vessels

Photo: Dolya Sergey/GeoPhoto.ru

Government to Spend USD 300 Million on Science Vessels

The Government intends to allocate more than USD 300 million to build new research vessels in the coming four years, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at a panel session with his deputies held on 31 January.

According to the Premier, in 2020, a sum of some USD 370 million was allocated by the Government to fund the construction of two research vessels operational in unrestricted navigation class. The ships, whose construction has already been partially covered from the federal budget, will be able to break 0.8-meter-thick ice and stay at sea for 50 days without resupplying, which makes them fit for the Arctic. Both vessels will be complete in three years.

Apart from this, in 2022, some USD 12 million will be invested by the Government to build a large-capacity research sea vessel at the Northern Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The ship will be used to mount various long-term research programs in the World Ocean. As stated by the Prime Minister, these programs will not only be beneficial scientifically, but could also contribute to the expansion of the Russian fishing industry.

The Government believes that commissioning such research vessels will be of great help both to Russian scientists and the shipbuilding companies. It should be noted that, under the Science National Project, Russia is expected to become one of the world’s five most advanced countries in terms of research in a selected number of fields by 2024, one of such fields being World Ocean research.

Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.
Alexander Stotskiy
2 February 2022
Arctic Today