SSG No 10 - Shipgaz

ALExANDR KALININ / SEANEwS.Ru
SHIPPING AND SHIP MANAGEMENT
On April 29, Sovcomflot took delivery of the Transsib Bridge. Last year, only two out of 16 new cargo vessels
were registered in the RIRS, but the situation is now gradually changing.
Law on second
register ineffective
The Russian International Register of Ships (RIRS) Act passed in late 2005 was
supposed to facilitate the return of Russian vessels registered in offshore
zones. Yet, this has still not begun on a large scale. The reason is as simple as
it is traditional for Russia: the cumbersome bureaucratic apparatus that was to
prepare the necessary legislation has been slow to start and most of the legal
issues connected with the RIRS were only settled in November 2007.
The passing of the corresponding federal
law and creation of the RIRS was designed
to make taxation and organisational conditions
for Russian shipowners equal
with their foreign colleagues. It was also
designed to provide certain advantages to
the shipowners who list their vessels in
the new register (compared to the Russian
Maritime Register of Shipping) and thus
help the shipowners to remain competitive
without having to abandon the Russian
flag. One of the goals of the RIRS was also
to attract those foreign vessels whose trading
manner would require them to register
in Russia, for instance for trading in the
Arctic region.
Russia
As estimated by the Russian Ministry of
Transport, the introduction of the second
register could increase the national treasury’s
annual revenue by about USD 2 million
from the registration of vessels alone,
while the costs of establishing and main-
70 SCANDINAVIAN SHIPPING GAZETTE • MAY 16, 2008