To facilitate this, the Ministry of Transport has introduced amendments to a bill that originally sought to ban the use of aging ships by 2030. According to the publication's informed source, a primary driver for the decision is the near-halving of state funding for the subsidized leasing of civil vessels for 2026–2028, which fell to 134.85 billion rubles ($1.75 billion). Thus, the number of ships slated for construction under the program has dropped from 260 to 219.
Persistent delays at Russian shipyards have also taken a toll. On average, a medium-tonnage vessel takes two years to build, while large-tonnage ships take three — yet deliveries are often delayed by an equal amount of time. To conclude, shipyards will likely fail to deliver most vessels now under construction by the 2030 deadline.
Russia’s Deputy Minister of Transport Alexander Poshivay earlier stated that 1,714 vessels will need to be replaced over the next four years to modernize the fleet. However, preliminary estimates show that Russian shipyards delivered only 129 civil vessels in 2025, down from 131 in 2024.
The original bill, initiated by the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), proposed banning ships older than 40 years from entering Russian ports starting in 2030. Under that proposal, Russian vessels older than 30 will require annual inspections, while foreign vessels of the same age will be inspected every six months. At the same time, USC suggested scaling up state support to incentivize shipowners to modernize their fleets.
Citing experts, the report noted that the original bill was "excessively rigid." With the Russian Central Bank’s interest rates remaining high — effectively killing market-based leasing — and a growing federal budget deficit, it is clear the state cannot implement a mass modernization program.