The Helsinki shipyard was Russian-owned for years, but the sanctions put its operations on hold. Now the shipyard is owned by Canadians.
Yevgeny Bogdanov,
Jari Tanskanen
The Russian state company United Shipbuilding Corporation demands 36.2 billion rubles (about 365 million euros) from Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, which previously owned the Helsinki shipyard. About that tells St. Petersburg newspaper Fontanka.
The lawsuit in question is aimed at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, whose business ended in 2019. At that time, the Helsinki shipyard was sold to Helsinki Shipyard.
The lawsuit concerns a financial dispute, but at this stage there is no information as to what the actual reason for the lawsuit was. United Shipbuilding Corporation, which filed the lawsuit, has not yet commented on the matter to the media.
The lawsuit was filed on February 16 at the Moscow Arbitration Court. Based on the court’s website, a lawsuit not yet approved to be processed.
In November 2023, the owners with a Russian background sold the company to a Canadian shipbuilder. The shipyard is therefore no longer in Russian ownership.
Regarding the current Helsinki Shipyard, was told that the company has nothing to do with Arctech Helsinki Shipyard.
– This is not related to us in any way, and no one has contacted us, nor should they. We have nothing to do with Arctech Helsinki Shipyard. Arctech stopped doing business on this site in 2019, after that it was continued by Helsinki Shipyard oy, and in November 2023 DNY Finland oy took over the business, says the CEO of Helsinki Shipyard Kim Salmi.
The shipyard has changed owners several times
In 2014, the Helsinki shipyard became part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation group owned by the Russian state, when Arctech Helsinki Shipyard became fully owned by the group. Previously, half of the shipyard company was owned by Koreans.
In Finland, ships were built for the Russian Sovcomflot company, as well as icebreakers for the Russian Ministry of Transport.
However, the US economic sanctions against Russia, directed against the Russian parent company, made the operation of the yard difficult, and the search for a new owner began.
In 2019, the shipyard’s entire stock was bought by Algador Holdings Ltd., a registered Russian company in Cyprus. At the same time, the name of the shipyard became Helsinki Shipyard.
But the shipyard’s difficulties continued, and it did not receive, for example, an export permit for the delivery of icebreakers to Russia.
Canadian shipyard company Chantier Davie Canada acquired the Helsinki shipyard at the end of last year. The new company has still kept the Helsinki Shipyard name in use.