By 2009, Russian International Register of Vessels is to accept the ships of Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest shipping company. It is to become a significant step towards the Register’s development in terms of both tonnage and quality of vessels. In general, the Register’s development is not very active today as its operating principles have not been worked out yet. Last year, only 2 of 16 newly built transport vessels were registered under Russian flag, while the rest ships were registered under ‘convenient’ flags. However, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation hopes to attract more vessels in future in order to improve the competitiveness of the Russian fleet at the world market