Russian military shipyards, which are under international sanctions, receive components from European countries thanks to companies from Croatia and Italy.
These shipyards specialize in building ships for the Russian Navy, some of which participated in the war with Ukraine.
In December 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the flag-raising ceremony on three new ships of the fleet at the "Northern Shipyard" in St. Petersburg. Among these ships was the small missile ship "Naro-Fominsk".
During this event, Putin noted that similar ships had previously struck militant positions in Syria from the Caspian Sea, and now their missiles are aimed at Ukraine.
The President also praised the team of the Zelenodol shipyard in Tatarstan, which is part of the Russian military-industrial complex and builds military ships, in particular patrol ships of project #22160, in particular "Sergiy Kotov", one of which was used in March in a conflict with Ukrainian unmanned boats. Although the ship "Kotov" itself was built at the plant in Kerch, the project was developed at the Zelenodol plant, where it is considered its own product.
In 2017, the Zelenodol Plant purchased bushings for bolts and a device for injecting onboard water from the Dutch manufacturer Discom for the Kotov ship, according to customs data from the Import Genius database.
Another ship completely built at this plant is the Samum hovercraft, which is also involved in the conflict with Ukraine. It was attacked and damaged off the coast of Crimea in mid-September 2023, but did not sink.
These warships use parts made in the European Union, despite the sanctions imposed on the Zelenodol Shipyard in March 2019.
In November 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control placed the shipyard on its sanctions list due to the "unprovoked attack on Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait" on November 25, 2018, when Russian forces forcibly seized Ukrainian ships transiting from Odesa to Mariupol.
In 2014, the shipyard refused to cooperate with the German manufacturer of engines for small missile ships of project 21631 "Buyan-M".
These ships are part of the Caspian Flotilla, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets. In December 2023, the Naro-Fominsk ship of this project was launched in the presence of Vladimir Putin.
However, the plant found a solution, and the supply of parts continued in 2020 and 2021 - just not directly, but through schemes with intermediaries, in particular, on the order of the enterprise "Marine Propulsion Systems".
"Marine Propulsion Systems" manufactures its own engines for vessels and ships and supplies equipment from abroad. Their cooperation with the Russian Navy was known from open sources.
For example, in April 2019, a cargo from the company Marine systems SIA, registered in Latvia, arrived in the Leningrad region. This equipment from Danish, German and Dutch manufacturers was intended for installation on missile ships of the Buyan-M project.
After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the shipyard almost immediately fell under the sanctions of the European Union in March 2022.
But the plant continued to purchase equipment from the European Union and the United States. This became possible thanks to deliveries through intermediary firms, some of which the sanctioned shipyard jointly owns with partners from the European Union.
Equipment manufacturers themselves often do not have data on the final recipient of the goods, and cannot always make sure that the equipment does not end up at sanctioned enterprises.
Deliveries to the sanctioned shipyard can be organized with the help of partners from Croatia, in particular, the Croatian company Adria Winch appears in the customs documents.
According to information from the company's official website, Adria Winch specializes in the supply of deck equipment for civilian and military vessels.
The ex-head of Adria Winch Milivoi Peruzovich told the Russian BBC that the company has been working in Russia for more than 20 years and first started cooperation at the "North Shipyard" in St. Petersburg, and then expanded its ties to the whole country.
Even after the sanctions in 2014, the management of Adria Winch decided to continue cooperation with Russian partners, considering the sanctions to be frivolous.
In 2016, together with the Croatian shipbuilding company Adria Winch, the shipyard created the Adria Winch Zelenodolsk joint venture in Russia as part of the import substitution program.
Now the shipyard uses this scheme. The Zelenodol Shipyard is part of the Ak Bars Shipbuilding Corporation, which belongs to the Ak Bars Holding Company, registered in the Republic of Tatarstan. Part of the Zelenodol Shipyard is owned by the Government of Tatarstan.
Almost 51% of the joint venture "Adria Winch Zelenodolsk" belongs to Ak Bars holding, and the rest to the Croatian company Adria Winch.
Adria Winch is the sole owner of Adria Winch in Moscow, which also regularly supplies spare parts to the Zelenodol Shipyard.
For example, in August 2022, Adria Winch supplied electric relays for a hydraulic towing winch of the French company Schneider Electric for a shipyard in Zelenodolsk.
Following an inquiry by the BBC, Schneider Electric launched an internal review, insisting it was acting within the law.
Most of the deliveries to the shipyard are made by the Croatian Adria Winch for its Russian subsidiaries (Zelenodol or Moscow companies).
After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Adria Winch stopped practicing direct deliveries to the shipyard and started selling through Adria Winch Zelenodolsk. However, they did not have information about the final recipient of the equipment.
In May 2022, the Croatian company Adria Winch delivered a batch of equipment to its Moscow subsidiary. This equipment included both the production of Adria Winch itself and other EU manufacturers, such as the German company Spohn & Burkhardt, which supplied spare parts for the mooring tower.
The customs declaration indicated that this equipment was intended for the ship of project 23120. These ships, such as Vsevolod Bobrov, took part in the battles on Zmiiny Island, although according to their characteristics they are not combat.
In one of the pictures taken in May 2022, it can be seen that the "Pantsir S1" anti-aircraft gun is installed on the "Vsezholda Bobrov".
Also in May, electronic modules and spare parts for the mooring tower arrived in Moscow from Finland. In general, Croatian shipbuilders supplied Russia with spare parts for the project 23120 ship in the amount of one thousand dollars.
The last delivery for the project 23120 tug was in July 2023. This time the cargo arrived in Moscow on the order of the company "Marine Propulsion Systems" from China. An interface board from the Swedish manufacturer Jowa was delivered. In general, the equipment cost Russian shipbuilders 7.5 thousand dollars.
The customs declarations also mention the NE012 project tug, which, although it does not have any weapons, was transferred to the Russian Guard, which has been under European sanctions since December 2022.
The tug was built at a shipyard in Zelenodolsk. The Croatian company supplied spare parts for it in March-September 2022 for almost 726 thousand dollars.
Milivoi Peruzovich admitted that due to the sanctions, deliveries to Russia were made through third countries such as Turkey, as well as through intermediaries in China, but continued until the company was sold.
After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Adria Winch is not the only European organization that continues to supply spare parts for vessels of the Russian Navy.
In October 2022, a batch of German spare parts for the new auxiliary vessel of the 20360M project arrived in St. Petersburg. The task of these ships is to transport munitions and load them onto submarines and surface ships on the high seas. In Russia, it was planned to build two such vessels, but they have not yet been completed.
After the launch of "Hennadiya Dmitrieva" in June 2022, it went to Sevastopol for completion. In March 2023, the Russian publication "Izvestia" reported that ships of the auxiliary fleet of the Russian Navy, in particular, project 20360M, will be built only from "domestic components".
In October 2022, a batch of spare parts for the vessel crane 20360M arrived in St. Petersburg from Istanbul. These parts included German oil filters from Hydac International and Italian lamps, totaling nearly $13,000.
In the customs declaration of the supply of spare parts for vessel 20360M, it was stated that they were intended for the ship's crane of this vessel, the production of which belonged to the Italian company Melcal. Melcal, although based in Italy, also has offices in Germany and China, and recently opened a branch in Russia.
In addition to supplies for the Russian Navy's auxiliary vessel, Turkish, Chinese and Hong Kong-registered firms have also been actively supplying Melcal equipment to Russian intermediary companies. For example, parts for nuclear powered ships "Fedor Ushakov" and "Yevgen Primakov" - spare parts for ship cranes were mainly supplied there.
Icebreakers cannot be considered warships, although during the times of the USSR, icebreakers of the "Arctic" project were designed so that they could participate in war.
However, Atomflot, which owns nuclear icebreakers, has been under US sanctions since May 2023 as a Rosatom enterprise.
At the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg, which is also under US and EU sanctions, three ships have already been built - "Arctic", "Siberia" and "Ural", and three more - "Yakutia", "Chukotka" and "Leningrad" - are located in the process of construction.
The last three are project 22220 nuclear-powered ships, and spare parts for the ships of this project continue to be supplied from the EU and the US through Turkish and Chinese companies.
Most often, the customer was the Saint-Petersburg-based Runitor, which is part of the Morsudpostach group of companies that supplies spare parts, including to the Russian Navy.
For "Runitor" and other customers for project 22220 nuclear powered ships, Turkish companies brought to St. Petersburg Spanish signal lamps and a towing complex, German and Polish parts for the fire extinguishing system, as well as Italian windshield wipers. A total of 16.5 million dollars only for June-July 2023.
"Rostamflot" stated that they do not depend on supplies of foreign equipment and did not sign contracts with foreign suppliers in 2023.
Companies with ties to the Russian Navy purchase goods from two main European suppliers, namely, Croatian Adria Winch and Latvian Marine Systems.
It is known that the president and shareholder of Adria Winch Milivoi Peruzovich regularly visited Russia since 2015. He visited various Russian cities, including Murmansk, Kaliningrad and Tatarstan, in particular, to a match of the AK Bars hockey club. July 2022 was marked by a meeting between Peruzovich and the general director of the Oka Shipyard to discuss the details of the construction of two civilian courts.
During a discussion on the portal korabel.ru regarding Croatia's anti-Russian policy, a user with the pseudonym Peruzovic Milivoj emphasized the close ties between Adria Winch and Russia, starting in 2000 and up to today.
During an interview with the BBC, Peruzovich refused to confirm Adria Winch's connection with the supply of equipment for the Russian Navy. However, reported data for 2022 indicate that Russia was one of the main buyers of Adria Winch goods, the value of which exceeded 700 thousand euros.
It should be noted that in the report for 2022, the company indicated that the sanctions of the European Union "have a direct impact" on its activities.
In December 2023, the Croatian company underwent a change in management — it was acquired by Global Offshore Engineering, also registered in Croatia. According to local publications, the new owner is Matko Zuanich, who also owns subsidiaries of Global Offshore Engineering in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Milivoi Peruzovich, president of Adria Winch, told the BBC that the new owners have decided to stop supplying goods to Russia due to possible risks, but continue to maintain obligations to the subsidiary Adria Winch Zelenodolsk. Peruzovich himself intends to continue cooperation with Russia and said that he is looking for new reliable partners.
The Italian company Melcal SPA is also known for its long-term relations with Russian shipbuilders. In 2019, they concluded an agreement with the shipbuilding corporation "AK BARS" and the trade and industrial association "Kronstadt" on the supply and production of Italian equipment for ships in Russia.
After the start of the war in Ukraine, equipment from Melcal began to be supplied to Russia not directly, but through Turkey, Hong Kong or China. Between October 2022 and July 2023, Russian companies spent $255,000 on Melcal equipment manufactured in the European Union.
As for supplies through the Latvian Marine Systems, European investigators already in 2022 pointed to the supply of European equipment for the ships of the Russian Navy. According to sources, the owner of Marine Systems in September 2022 was Ihor Smolin, who later changed his business strategy and continues to control a similar company called "Marine Systems" in St. Petersburg.
Igor Smolin received Russian citizenship back in 2009 and now actively controls the activities of the Russian company. The last supply of equipment to Russia found by the BBC Russia Service was in June 2023, when Russian customers purchased a diesel generator worth $32,000.
In April 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Zelenodol shipyard continues its work on building ships for the needs of the Navy. At the conference call, it was announced that by 2025, the shipyard will hand over five missile ships to the Navy, and soon the fifth patrol ship of project 22160 named "Viktor Velikiy" will be launched.
This last ship is equipped with a diesel engine manufactured by the German company DEUTZ. These engines were delivered to the Zelenodol Shipyard in June 2019, after it fell under US sanctions. The supply of these engines was carried out by the Latvian company Marine Systems.
Adria Winch continues to actively supply parts to Russian shipyards, including the Zelenodol Shipyard, as well as the Baltic Shipyard. However, after the start of a full-scale invasion, the ship project numbers are less and less mentioned in the declarations about the supply of parts.
Tetiana Levycheva, general director of Adria Vinch in Moscow, whom the BBC was able to find for comment, introduced herself as the company's chief accountant. She confirmed direct deliveries from the Croatian company to the Zelenodol shipyard, but refused to comment on the further situation.
According to data from February 2022 to July 2023, companies related to Adria Winch or its subsidiaries in Russia supplied parts worth about 1.2 million dollars.
Some European manufacturers, such as Speich, Eaton, Vítkovice Cylinders, Ventil Technik and Jowa, noted that they did not supply their products either directly to Russia or through intermediaries who then transferred parts to sanctioned shipyards.
Several other manufacturers, including W. Gessmann, Honeywell International, Hydropress Hydraulika, Pernow Armaturen, Grundfos DK, Fluidmecanica, Skum, Spohn & Burkhardt, Deutz, Schneider Electric, did not respond to requests from the Russian Air Force.
Russian companies such as "Marine Propulsion Systems", "Marine Systems", trade and industrial association "Kronstadt", "Adria Vinch Zelenodolsk" and Rosatomflot also did not respond to the requests of the Russian Air Force Service.
The companies Adria Winch and Melcal from Croatia also did not respond to the requests of the Russian Air Force.
