A number of international corporations formed a shipbuilding cluster in the south of Primorskiy krai of the Russian Federation. Oil giant Rosneft, Gazprombank, Sovcomflot, and a shipbuilder from South Korea Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd. (DSME) united their efforts under an Moll agreement. This memorandum is the official agreement to form a shipbuilding cluster of industrial scale.

A new shipyard named Zvezda will be constructed by 2016, according to the agreement between the companies. The shipyard will concentrate on engineering solutions for shipbuilding and marine research in the field of offshore exploration. According the memorandum, companies will exchange knowledge and technologies in order to establish a local manufacturer capable of meeting contractual obligations for Russian customers. Ships and marine vessels for offshore drilling are expected to be in great demand in the near future.

Igor Sechin, the president and chairman of the board of Rosneft, shared some comments with the press on the occasion of the shipbuilding cluster announcement.

“The Company assumed obligations to localize in Russia shipbuilding and marine equipment production necessary for offshore projects implementation and is already working actively in this direction. Following the decision of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Rosneft, together with its partners Gazprombank, and Sovcomflot, is implementing a project to develop a shipbuilding and industrial cluster at the Zvezda shipyard that will have a considerable multiplier effect on all related industries. We are glad the project will be "cemented with the support of such an experienced technological partner as DSME, which has cutting-edge technologies, as well as a globally-recognized reputation for shipbuilding, engineering, and production of marine equipment for offshore projects. We are convinced the cluster will become a center for high-tech arctic shipbuilding in Russia,” Mr. Sechin concluded.