Page 20 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #37

based companies and their partners to major projects
as contractors and subcontractors. The cluster seeks
advancement in such areas as construction of ice-re-
inforced auxiliary vessels, formation of passenger and
fishing fleets, platforms, offshore and underwater min-
ing equipment, structures for LNG plants, offshore fa-
cilities and components.
The core business of the cluster spans service main-
tenance, construction, repair and modernization of
ships, involving more than 40 shipyards, ship repair
providers and suppliers. The total number of people
employed in shipbuilding and mechanical engineering
exceeds 50,000.
One more coordinating power that has for many
years been pooling regional contractors’ efforts together
is Sozvezdye – the association contributing to progress
by delivering, in cooperation with the regional author-
ities, counselling, workshops and forums designed to
bring contractors and customers together.
That 150 local companies were hired to service Ya-
mal LNG project is largely due to the support and ef-
forts from Sozvezdye and the government of Arkhan-
gelsk Oblast. Of these 150, more than 50 companies
were engaged in cargo transshipment and transporta-
tion to the port of Sabetta. More than 20 were involved
in the construction of port infrastructure facilities,
manufacture of large-sized reinforced concrete and
metal structures, and on-site installation of the LNG fa-
cilities. Installation of the four LNG tanks required over
two million tons of mortar sand, supplied by Arkhan-
gelsk River Port.
Not all contractors are capable of working efficiently
in the Arctic conditions, so there is good reason for the
project owners to hire the contractors that are based in
Arkhangelsk – the leading transport and logistics com-
The future of the Arctic transport system of Arkhangelsk panies with a proven track record of operating in High
Oblast lies in the renewal of its cargo base, increased con- North. It was therefore natural that Yamal LNG project
tainer traffic, construction of modern terminals, high- had become an important stage in Sozvezdye’s many-
ways, access roads and transforming the Northern Sea year work to promote Arkhangelsk transport hub’ lo-
Route into a developed transit route of international im- gistics services.
portance. From this perspective, with Arkhangelsk offers To give one example, it was through Sozvezdye-led
promising investment opportunities in Arctic-oriented preparations that the decision to operate icebreaker
industrial capacity building. support (by Atomflot) on a year-round basis was tak-
For the domestic owners of ice-reinforced fleets, en in favor of Arkhangelsk-Sabetta line. That decision
Arkhangelsk is the key provider of repair services. With had led to more than 150 Arkhangelsk – Sabetta voy-
diversified shipbuilding sector, mechanical engineer- ages and transportation of 700,000 tons of cargo every
ing and ship repair yards, Arkhangelsk represents an year between 2014 and 2017. In this respect, Yamal LNG
attractive industrial hub for Arctic projects. It was for project has had a highly positive effect on Arkhangelsk
a good reason why the first domestic jackup rig Ark- Oblast’s industrial growth and transport infrastructure,
ticheskaya and the offshore ice-resistant platform Pri- having furnished the local companies with invaluable
razlomnaya were built here at Severodvinsk-based Sev- experience of participating in the large-scale projects.
mash and Zvezdochka. These two yards are currently Today, the Arkhangelsk-based suppliers to oil and
constructing a substructure for project LSP “A” – the gas sector are engaged in the construction of the fields
fixed ice-resistant platform for Kamennomysskoye-Sea on Yamal and Gydan. More than one hundred of them
offshore field in the Gulf of Ob. The area thus has the are placed orders for materials, equipment, large-sized
ample expertise and capacity to build offshore mining metal structures, engineering surveys, power plant con-
facilities of different levels of complexity, also for inter- struction, installation works and hydraulic engineering.
national customers.
Many of Arkhangelsk-based industrial enterprises Strengths and competencies
are competent contractors who purposefully join their
efforts to participate in major projects in the Arctic, of- In the chain of Arctic cargo flows, Arkhangelsk is
fering their combined capacity and experience. Many a strong, important link, serving also as a backup sea
offer their customers operating in the Arctic areas prov- route and extra storage site for Arctic-bound cargoes
en cooperation scenarios based on jointly generated in the off-season. Acting as such, its capacity allows for
technical and operational solutions. careful cargo transportation planning, while also ruling
SOZVEZDYE #37 The land of Pomors is experiencing a vibrant growth out the risk of disrupted deliveries. One example of suc-
in its clusters of shipping, stevedoring, transport and lo- cessful performance in this line of operations is MRTS.
gistics companies that are looking to well-coordinated An emerging company just a few years ago, MRTS has
перспективы cooperation. The establishment in 2012 of the Territo- grown to operate Levy Bereg cargo handling area with
production premises and slipways.
rial Cluster for Innovative Shipbuilding was followed by
outlook creation, in 2018, Arkhangelsk Oblast Cluster for Ship- MRTS owns an extensive resource base deployed di-
building and Marine Engineering, the latter being man- rectly in its port, with cargo accumulation sites, access
agers to the former. railways, rail car yard; road connection to M-8 highway,
The shipbuilding cluster promotes cooperation which is convenient for container transportation; and
towards increased competitive edge of the local civ- sustainable energy supply. These are essential and obvi-
18 il shipbuilding sector – by bridging the Arkhangelsk- ous strengths that allow Arkhangelsk and its companies