Russia: Crimean shipyards ready to produce speed boats for Greece
Shipbuilding companies in Crimea are ready to fulfill orders for Greek companies, said Crimean “Minister of Industrial Policy” Andrey Vasyut, as cited by the Kryminform news agency.
“Crimea’s shipbuilding companies have upgraded their production capabilities and infrastructure, and have the necessary competence to fulfill the orders of Greece’s interested companies,” he said.
Representatives of the Zalyv and More shipyards confirmed that they were ready to collaborate and to build speedboats for Greece’s tourist industry.
In summer 2018, the Zalyv shipyard was placed under sanctions for its involvement in the construction of the Kerch Bridge. Information about the shipyard, which is situated in annexed Crimea, has been published in an official EU journal.
The Russian government has repeatedly claimed that it intends to fully utilize the capacity of the Zalyv shipyard in Kerch with military orders. In April 2018, Zalyv began repairing Russian naval vessels.
After Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Crimean self-defense representative Artem Mirokhin became general director of Zalyv. The shipyard announced in a press statement that Ukrainian businessman Kostyantyn Zhevago had been removed from the company’s leadership. The plant’s new leadership did not allow armed people onto site. Later the company’s website announced that there had been a hostile takeover. Andrey Zherdev from the Russian republic of Tatarstan was then appointed director of the shipyard. The current general director of Zalyv is Igor Obrubov.