The Ship Tech Global roundtable "Import substitution in shipbuilding – plans and reality" was held as part of the business program of the IX Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo Russia 2026. The event was organised by the Mediapaluba news agency in partnership with Expo Solutions Group. Participants discussed the development of domestic marine equipment manufacturing, mechanisms for verifying localisation and the implementation of import substitution projects.
One of the main topics was the production of critical marine equipment. According to Dmitry Stoyanov, General Director of ANO "Sudprom", 108 integrated projects to develop such products are being implemented in Russia, more than 50 of which were launched in 2022-2023. The equipment developed under these projects is expected to begin moving into series production in 2026-2027.
Dmitry Stoyanov also outlined changes to the localisation assessment system for small and fishing vessels. Higher multipliers have been introduced for certain vessel categories, enabling manufacturers to reach the required threshold of 3,600 points. A multiplier of 1.75 applies to vessels up to 20 metres long, 1.35 to vessels between 21 and 35 metres and 1.45 to fishing vessels up to 30 metres. The approach was revised because the classification and configuration of smaller vessels previously made it difficult for manufacturers to achieve the required score.
Particular attention was also paid to the development of the Unified centralised system of marine equipment and components. The database currently contains around 9,200 entries and continues to be expanded with products from Russian manufacturers. It includes an equipment classifier, detailed technical specifications and supporting documentation. Dmitry Stoyanov encouraged Russian manufacturers to add information about their products to the portal more actively, noting that the service is free and provides an additional promotional tool.
Another topic was the difficulty of confirming the Russian origin of marine equipment. Alexander Tsygankov, head of the expertise and certification department at the Leningrad Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, reported that around 30-40% of applications are returned for revision at the initial stage because of incorrect information in product records, particularly incorrect OKPD-2 codes. Correcting these errors and resubmitting the documentation can take between two and four weeks, increasing manufacturers' time and financial costs.
The roundtable addressed current import substitution challenges in shipbuilding, including the development of domestic manufacturing capabilities, improvements to the regulatory framework and greater availability of Russian marine equipment for fisheries companies.