Source TASS

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia: Russia intends to significantly renew its commercial fleet in 2023-2027, President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"I would like to add that we will significantly renew the commercial fleet in the next five years. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has already made amendments to the large-scale construction program. We will use resources of the National Wealth Fund to implement it. I would like to note construction of at least 260 vessels is planned within this framework of this program alone at Russian shipyards in 2023-2027," Putin said.

The former Soviet Union had one of the biggest merchant fleets in the world prior to its collapse in 1991, allowing it to operate independently to earn hard currency; to support the Navy, as its auxiliaries, and to provide transportation of cargoes to and from "friendly nations".

As Europe has weaned itself off Russian energy, buyers in Asia have cut deals. China boosted imports of Russian oil to 1.9 million barrels per day on average in 2022, up 19 percent from 2021, according to the International Energy Agency. India ramped up purchases even more sharply, logging an 800 percent increase to an average of 900,000 barrels per day.

Russia’s oil exports to China and India both hit record highs in January after Europe’s ban on seaborne Russian oil took effect, according to Kpler, a data and analytics company. Exports to Turkey, another top customer, also continued apace. (The ban on refined oil products did not kick in until February.)

Russia also exports a huge variety of other commodities and building and operating an independent fleet will allow it to reassert control over its international trade while avoiding the risks of working with unreliable Western partners.