The Russian Government Sets Ambitious Plans to Boost Shipbuilding Industry

The Russian government has unveiled a massive plan to build hundreds of new ‘civilian’ vessels by 2050, upgrade its shipbuilding capability, and increase the workforce in the maritime domain.

As informed, Russia intends to spend over RUB 500 billion (about $6.2 billion) in federal funding in the next six years to support the shipbuilding sector. This is the record figure allocated for the sector, as per the government.

The government has updated its Strategy for the Development of the Shipbuilding Industry. Introduced on May 12, 2025, the updated version of the document provides an up-to-date analysis of domestic and global demand for vessels through 2050.

In addition, the government took into account the gradual decommissioning of existing vessels, most of which were built in the 1970s and 1980s.

“The systematic replacement of these with modern, technologically advanced ships is one of the main challenges facing our domestic shipbuilding industry,” Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of Russia, said at a meeting in Moscow on May 12.

Against the backdrop of sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia by numerous countries, the Russian government highlighted that its major objective is to establish freight traffic via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) that would connect Russia with “friendly” countries.

Key Points of the Strategy

Under the new strategy, over 1,600 units of ‘civilian’ ships and marine equipment are expected to be built at Russian shipyards by 2036. Priority would be given to ships intended for the NSR and the North-South transport corridor. The focus is on developing competencies for large-capacity projects, including crude oil tankers, gas carriers, container ships and bulk carriers, the government said.

By 2036, the number of ships for the NSR should increase to 51, and by 2050 to 135.

“We are paying special attention to the construction of icebreakers, support vessels and maintenance ships, as well as to the accelerated renewal of the passenger and fishing fleets,” Mishustin added.

The Russian Federation also aims to modernize existing shipyards and boost shipbuilding capacity by building new shipyards. By 2036, the level of utilization of existing production facilities is envisaged to grow to 61% and by 2050, it would reach 73%, the government said. What is more, the country wants to increase the share of serial production of merchant vessels to make them more cost-competitive.

Another objective is the replacement of foreign ship component equipment by developing the country’s own. By 2036, half of such products are planned to be produced in Russia, and by 2050, the share of Russian components is expected to increase to 80%.

A further goal of the updated strategy is to double the number of new and modernized ship repair enterprises, with a threefold increase in the volume of ship repair.

Workforce Development and Future Challenges

To meet future demands, the strategy stipulates strengthening the industry’s human resources potential. The document involves the introduction of mechanisms for training, attracting and motivating employees of shipbuilding enterprises.

“To meet future demands, we will need to increase the workforce by at least 15 percent by 2036, to around 190,000 people. In addition to staffing the shipyards, it is equally important to attract talent to design and development centres. We must also make greater use of applied scientific research, push forward with automation and digitalization at the shipyards to boost labor productivity and gradually transition to large-block shipbuilding,” the Prime Minister concluded.

To note, the United States recently rolled out a similar strategy aimed at strengthening the national shipbuilding industry and increasing the domestic merchant fleet while at the same time countering China’s dominance in the sector.