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MOSCOW, July 28 (Itar-Tass) — The shipbuilding enterprises of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) – Severnaya Verf (Northern Shipyard) and Baltic Shipyard are currently assessed at 10-12 billion roubles, USC President Roman Trotsenko said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass.
According to him, the previous owners withdrew many assets from these enterprises. “Baltic Shipyard is virtually bankrupt, and Northern Shipyard will be bankrupt in the near future,” Trotsenko predicts. “As of last year, these assets were worth about 20 billion roubles. However, a great deal was withdrawn from then during the year: infrastructure, workshops, communications, loads of debts.” He recalled that these assets were pledged to the Central Bank for 30 billion roubles and there are no chances to return these billions. “Now, I think, these assets are worth 10-12 billion roubles,” the USC president added.
Earlier, the corporation expressed an interest in purchasing Northern Shipyard and Baltic Shipyard. Last year, former member of the Federation Council Sergei Pugachev sent a letter to the USC with a proposal to buy the assets, but then the parties failed to agree on valuation. At present, both assets are pledged to the Central Bank in connection with the bankruptcy of Mezhprombank. According to an assessment of the Audit Chamber that was released in June, Northern Shipyard’s liabilities as of March 31 totalled 54.6 billion roubles, and Baltic Shipyard’s – 10.8 billion roubles. At the same time Northern Shipyard’s proceeds in 2010 amounted to 10.3 billion roubles, and net loss – to 982.6 million roubles. Baltic Shipyard last year gained only 1.2 billion roubles, getting 273 thousand roubles of net profit.
However, according to the Audit Chamber, both companies have outstanding debts: at the end of 2010 Northern Shipyard had a debt of 6.9 million roubles, and Baltic Shipyard as of March 31 – 317.9 million roubles.
Baltic Shipyard is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia. it is located in Saint Petersburg in the south-western part of the Vasilievsky Island. It is one of the three shipyards active in Saint Petersburg. Together with the Admiralty Shipyard it has been responsible for building a large part of Imperial Russian battleships as well as Soviet nuclear powered icebreakers. Currently it is specialising in merchant ships while the Admiralty yard specializes in diesel-electric submarines. The shipyard was founded in 1856 by the St. Petersburg merchant M. Carr and the Scotsman M. L. MacPherson. It subsequently became the Carr and MacPherson yard. In 1864 it built two monitors of the Uragan class. In 1874 the shipyard was sold to Prince Ochtomski. In 1934 the shipyard started work on the three prototypes for the Soviet S class submarine, based on a German design produced by the Dutch company Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw. The Soviets renamed the shipyard Numbered Zavod 189 ‘im. Sergo Ordzhonikidze’ on 30 December 1936.
Severnaya Verf is located in St. Petersburg, a major shipyard producing both naval and civilian ships. Originally was founded exclusively for military shipbuilding. The priority market for Severnaya shipyard is military export to Asian countries as India, China and Vietnam. The shipyard was originally established in the early 1900s as the Severnaya Verf (Northern Shipyard) which is part of the Severnaya Verf Production Association. This association also includes an electrodes factory with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes annually and a furniture factory. The shipyard was formerly known as Soviet Shipyard No. 190, and between 1935- 1989 as Zhdanov Shipyard. Under the name Zhdanov Shipyard, various classes of destroyers and ASW frigates were built, including: late 1940s -the Skory class destroyer; during the 1950s – the Kotlin class destroyer; late 1950s – the Kanin class destroyer and the modified Kildin class guided missile destroyer; during the 1960s – the Kashin class guided missile destroyer; during the 1970s – the Krivak class frigate; late 1970s – the Sovremenny class destroyer; early 1980s – the Udaloy class destroyer; during 2000s – the Steregushchy class corvette; during 2010s – the Admiral Sergei Gorshkov class frigate.
United Shipbuilding Corporation is an open joint stock company in Russia which unites shipbuilding, repair and maintenance subsidiaries in western and northern Russia, and in the country’s Far East, to streamline civilian shipbuilding using military facilities. The corporation was established by a series of Presidential Decrees signed by President Vladimir Putin. According to the decree, the corporation has 3 subsidiaries: the Western Shipbuilding Centre in St. Petersburg, the Northern Shipbuilding and Maintenance Centre in Severodvinsk and the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Maintenance Centre in Vladivostok. The state owns 100 percent of the shares. United Shipbuilding Corporation also has a 50 percent stake in Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, a joint venture with STX Finland Cruise Oy.