Organizer: Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

Venue: the city of Kazan, IEC KAZAN EXPO

Time: 19.05.2023, 10:00-11:40

Moderator: Magarovsky Vyacheslav Valeryevich, Head of the Department of Hydrodynamics, the KGNC, FSUE

Speakers:

Pinskiy Aleksander Savelyevich, General Director, MARINET Industrial Center, ANO

Mistakhov Renat Iskanderovich, General Director, Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation;

Gurlenov Andrey Vladimirovich, General Director, SITRONICS ELECTRO OOO;

Volynskiy Ilya Aleksandrovich, Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy of the Astrakhan Region;

Mishanov Anatoliy Viktorovich, General Director, Southern Center of Shipbuilding and Ship Repairing, AO.

General Director of MARINET Industrial Center, ANO, Aleksander Pinskiy, noted that one of the promising areas of cooperation with foreign countries is automatic control and remote control of sea vessels. He presented a pilot project on automatic and remote navigation being implemented together with Russian shipping companies, IT companies, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Russian Ministry of Transport and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The goal of the project is to create technical performance capabilities and legal conditions for the offshore autonomous water surface vessels (AWSV) operation under the flag of Russia.

Currently, autonomous ships are already being used in Russia in real conditions. The basic legislation of the Russian Federation on autonomous navigation has been already developed. Russia is the only country in the world where autonomous control of ships is officially allowed. Recommendations have been issued, in which, for the first time in the world, practical solutions are interpreted in mathematical and algorithmic languages. The practical application of autonomous systems on ships of the Russian Federation and this legal framework formed the basis for the development of international requirements for autonomous navigation. There is and has already been tested a system for training seafarers to work on autonomous ships. The Russian experience has become advanced for the use in the international community.

Renat Mistakhov, General Director of AkBars Shipbuilding Corporation, presented the company's capabilities offered to their customers. It is a package solution including not only the construction of ships, but also the formation of a business model for the customer, calculation and forecast of route loading, calculation of the cost of operating the fleet of ships, assistance in organizing the operation of ships, etc. Another major area is the formation and development of coastal infrastructure, with the design of logistics, taking into account land logistics for the delivery/dispatch of goods. The company provides a full package of warranties, upgrades, after-sales service and even ship recycling.

The corporation has its own design office, as well as a complete factory infrastructure, including the implementation of a full cycle of shipbuilding process. In addition, there are two instrument-engineering plants, which provide almost 100% replacements of those ship instrument systems, the supply of which was under sanctions.

At present, additive technologies are being introduced in the corporation, new composite materials are being designed, and digitalization of various activities is actively used. Vessels are manufactured not only on the basis of liquefied fuel, but also on liquefied gas. At present, hydrogen-powered ships and electric ships are being already designed.

The corporation has the necessary land resources, buildings, as well as powerful human capital, but the development of innovative areas still requires investment.

Andrey Gurlenov, General Director of SITRONICS ELECTRO, OOO, presented his company. Its main activities are the construction of an electric fleet and related infrastructure, as well as development of software for autonomous navigation. The key technological achievements of the company include ensuring high charging rates for electric vessels, including those with a charging rate of more than 1 MW/hour, creating high-capacity batteries, forming a charging infrastructure on water surfaces based on complex electrical engineering solutions, developing standards for exchange protocols between an electric vessel and a charging station, development of software for passenger water transport.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy of the Astrakhan region Ilya Volynskiy stressed that it is necessary to increase the fleet on the Caspian Sea. At present, there is a significant increase in the volume and number of traffic along the North-South corridor from Iran, India, and other countries of South-East Asia to the Russian Federation. The Astrakhan region plays a key role in shaping Russia's policy in the transport fleet, including as part of the North-South route. He noted that the shipbuilding enterprises of the Astrakhan region have the necessary production base, experienced personnel and competencies for the construction of ships for the transport, passenger and dredging fleet.

There is a special economic zone, “Lotos”, in the region which provides residents with significant tax exemptions. There are 12 residents registered in this territory with declared investments of over 40 billion rubles, and with over 2 billion rubles of actually already implemented ones.

Anatoly Mishanov, General Director of Southern Center of Shipbuilding and Ship Repair, AO, said that the company is building the cruise ship “Pyotr Velikiy”. A series of 25 ships of dry cargo containers is also planned for construction, four of which have already been started. The Center also builds dredgers using a completely new technology having no analogues in the world.