PRESS: Kalashnikov plans to engage in grain transportation

MOSCOW, Nov 21 (PRIME) – Russian rifle maker Kalashnikov will build eight dry cargo vessels and set up a shipping operator to carry grain in the Volga River, the Caspian, Black, Azov and Mediterranean Seas, Kommersant business daily reported on Tuesday quoting the company.

Kalashnikov will pay about 10 billion rubles until 2022 for the vessels with a capacity of up to 7,000 tonnes. Kommersant reported quoting Kalashnikov CEO Alexei Krivoruchko that Kalashnikov’s subsidiary Nobel Brothers Shipyard will build the ships using expertise of the Vympel shipyard. Kalashnikov’s shipbuilding cluster has serious experience in production of river and sea vessels, he said.

The plan includes creation of Volga-Don shipping company together with agricultural company Delta-Agro, whose bulk carriers will transport up to 900,000 tonnes of grain in up to 160 cruises per year. Sergei Yegorov, the future head of the shipping company, said that Russia’s grain harvest is growing, but there are problems with grain sales due to a high cost of freight and a limited fleet of river-sea navigation vessels.

The Industry and Transport Ministry plans to provide financing on condition of preferential leasing. Deputy Minister Oleg Ryazantsev said, “A stable rate of cargo transportation helps a competitive price for end consumers form.”

Konstantin Anisimov, CEO of Moscow River Shipping Company, said that higher grain exports had led to a deficit of rail cars and ships, providing for a niche for new players. But there was little demand for bulk carriers several years ago due to low harvests, he added.

(59.2746 rubles – U.S. $1)

End