Interview by O.V. Tereshchenko, General Director of JSC Rosnefteflot, to RIA Novosti News Agency
The Rosnefteflot own and charter fleet includes 47 vessels. What are your plans for development of cooperation with other companies?
Answer: The Rosnefteflot activities in cargo transportation are first of all directed to satisfying the requirements of the Rosneft group of companies. Besides that, Rosnefteflot cooperates with a number of Russian and Foreign companies: Sakhalin Energy, Exxon, Novatek, Sibur, NNK and others. The volume of Rosnefteflot’s cargo traffic grows every year and picks up steam.
Rosnefteflot actively provides mooring and escorting services for tankers and other vessels in the biggest Russian ports.
What kinds of vessels and how many of them are planned to charter this year and next year?
Answer: Rosnefteflot charters river tankers all the time. More than 150 vessels are engaged during the navigation period. We charter vessels when the need arises. Rosnefteflot plans to expand the tug fleet and the number of bunkering tankers, and enter new markets.
What is Rosnefteflot’s transportation plan for Rosneft for 2018? And what about the next year?
Answer: This year, we plan to transport about 5 mln tons of cargos, approximately the same amount is planned for 2019.
Does the company have plans to expand its own fleet? If yes, what kinds of vessels are to appear in the company’s fleet and when? Will they be the vessels made by the Zvezda shipbuilding complex or by other companies as well?
Answer: We have such plans. 10 Aframax tankers, 10 strengthened ice-class tankers with the deadweight of 42 thousand tons and a tanker with the deadweight of 69 thousand tons will be added stage by stage to the company’s fleet beginning from 2020. All the said vessels will be built at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex in the city of Bolshoy Kamen.
Besides, Rosnefteflot experts analyze additional opportunities to expand the fleet. We are working out the strategy, which provides for the fleet renewal, construction of tankers, supply ships, tugboats and other types of vessels at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex.
What are Rosnefteflot plans for increase or decrease of the river carriage volume?
Answer: We at the least do not expect decrease of carriage volumes as this kind of transport is more advantageous for clients in comparison with alternative kinds.
What receipts and profits do you expect as the result of the year? What were they as the result of 2017? What business segment forms the main gains?
Answer: Our receipts amounted to RUB 5 billion, net profit to RUB 1.12 billion as the result of the last year.
The company gets the most part of the receipts from tugging services. Besides, there is considerable contribution by such activities as arrangement of sea and river transportations, bunkering vessels’ management, supervision of vessel construction and services provided by professional emergency rescue and salvage teams.
How do you assess the efficiency of the draft law on only the Russian-made vessels being allowed to transport raw materials, in particular oil, gas, gas condensate and coal extracted in the Russian Federation and loaded on vessels in the water area of the Northern Sea Route? Won’t it limit the volume of carriage along the Northern Sea Route? Does the draft law open any new opportunities for Rosnefteflot?
Answer: We are sure that the Russian shipbuilding industry should actively develop and this draft law can become an additional incentive for its development. Ordering shipbuilding in Russian shipyards will allow to increase the economic efficiency of large-scale projects.
The Rosneft Company has gigantic plans for developing the Arctic shelf and Rosnefteflot plans to actively participate in providing works in exploration and prospecting, mining and extraction as well as transportation of cargos.
