Ag minister sees 1st large Russian bulker leased by mid-2026

ST. PETERSBURG, Jun 16 (PRIME) -- The first Russia-made large-capacity bulker ship may be commissioned and leased at the end of 2025 or in early 2026, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said on Friday on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"We expect that (the bulker engineering) works will be complete, and the first Russia-made large-capacity bulker will be built on a Russian shipyard, commissioned and leased at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026," the minister said.

"We later plan to float at least two to three Handysize and Supramax ships per year. There is an agreement on that with United Shipbuilding Corporation. We need at least 60 bulkers to fully cover national demand."

The Transport Ministry is working on a mechanism to support bulker purchases on the secondary market and will finish it until 2024.

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