ARKHANGELSK, February 15. /TASS/. Russian vessels, which earlier were served at foreign ports, due to the sanctions return to docks in the Arkhangelsk Region, where repairing and maintenance services are contracted to 2025. The region plans to upgrade ship repairing infrastructures, Governor Alexander Tsybulsky said at a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

"I have reported to you about ship repair and maintenance - many foreign ports traditionally used to serve our vessels. Now, the Russian vessels come to the Arkhangelsk docks. We have contracted regular services to late 2024 - early 2025. We have been planning to upgrade the repairing and maintenance facilities. Thus, the limitations, imposed against us by the unfriendly countries, for the Arkhangelsk Region turn out to be new opportunities, about which, no doubt, they will regret in future, and we will not miss them now and will not let them back later on," the governor said.

In January, the governor presented a plan to organize in Severodvinsk a ship maintenance coordinating center to implement modern approaches and technologies. Arkhangelsk will build another dock for repair services.

The Arkhangelsk Region's envoy on the Arctic development, Dmitry Yurkov said earlier the region had filed an application to have the Arkhangelsk port included into the state program to enjoy subsidized regular traffic along the Northern Sea Route. This incentive offers special tariffs for regular coastal transportation.

Earlier, the Russian government adopted a plan to develop the Northern Sea Route to 2035. The plan's five directions include: building up the export cargo base, coastal and transit traffic, an upgrade and construction of port and other infrastructures, development of the Arctic cargo and icebreaking fleets. According to the plan, the Northern Sea Route's cargo traffic will reach 220 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) by 2035.

Floating docks

The Arkhangelsk Region plans to build two floating docks, the governor told the president. "One of them - at Sevmash - mostly of the defense-industrial character. And the five-thousand dock at Krasnaya Kuznitsa, which we will construct, will build up greatly opportunities for maintenance of civil vessels. Here we are very optimistic," the governor said.

For the first time over recent 30 years, the region has ordered at the Krasnaya Kuznitsa Plant four ice-class vessels for year-round communication with the islands.

"Arkhangelsk (region) is a specific territory, where we have quite many islands, and about 10,000 people live on the islands. They come to work or for whatever reasons to Arkhangelsk either by the water transport in summer, or by using pontoons in winter. The problem is that in spring and autumn they are practically cut off the mainland. These new vessels could work year-round to serve those territories. We have used the incentives program, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to place this order, and thus we have also supported our industry. Four ships taking about 150 passengers. Of the enforced ice class," he said.

The region's defense-industry enterprises are top busy now, he continued, saying "the burden on people has been growing significantly."