Damen and Zavod Gidromekhanizatsii advance bids for supply of cutter suction dredger to Onezhsky Shipyard

Petrazavodsk based Onezhsky Shipyard has announced an invitation for bid for supply of equipment, metal structures, repair set and project documentation for construction of a high-capacity non-self-propelled cutter suction dredger. According to IFB materials, the maximum price is EUR 6.9 mln. The IFB was issued on April 11, 2016. The dredger is to be delivered not later than May 20, 2016. 

The bids were advanced on April 14, 2016. Damen Group (Netherlands) offers contract execution for EUR 6.75 mln before May 20, 2016 while Zavod Gidromekhanizatsii is ready to implement the contract for RUB 360 mln within 8 months needed for a full cycle of construction.

Yevgeny Leonov, member of Zavod Gidromekhanizatsii BoD comments: “I am sure, this tender is intended to conceal yet another procurement of a dredger already built in the Netherlands. We understand that the tender was composed in a way to purchase a ready vessel. The technology had already been tested on a similar purchase: period of time is unrealistic for new production (results are to be announced on April 25 with the vessel to be delivered by May 20 of the same year). It is clear that none of Russian companies is able to build vessels for stock without contracts or financing while Dutch banks provide loans for construction of vessels secured by vessels themselves and to the rates of -3%”.

He said the need to purchase such a vessel had been discussed at FSUE Rosmorport for about two years already. “Today, at a pretext of urgency, a tender is announced with a two-week term of delivery. It automatically excludes all potential Russian bidders,” thinks Yevgeny Leonov. He also emphasized that “the tender initially required class notation of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping given to a reclassified vessel, not a vessels built under RS supervision”. 

At the meeting of RF Government’s Marine Board Presidium held in Astrakhan in March 2016 a task was set for Rosmorport to considerably expand the scope of dredging at the Volga-Caspian Seaway Canal and in other water areas of Russia from the beginning of summer navigation season of 2016.  However, there is lack of dredging fleet in Russia.