United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) have signed a strategic cooperation memorandum targeting joint scientific and technical projects to develop existing and new types of products for shipbuilding, as well as optimizing the logistics chains of metal products deliveries from MMK to USC production sites.
USC President Roman Trotsenko said: “The shipbuilding industry, I assume, is the most metal-intensive industrial sector. We at USC believe that strategic cooperation between Russian shipbuilders and MMK will help to develop sound competition among domestic producers of shipbuilding steel. This is especially important given the steady growth of shipbuilding orders in Russia.”
MMK CEO Boris Dubrovsky said: “MMK’s Mill 5000 is one of the most advanced production facilities for heavy-gauge plate steel, and we intend to continuously grow our presence across the shipbuilding market. This possibility is closer to becoming a reality today, and we are happy with the agreements we have reached with USC. MMK has the capacity to fully meet the requirements of Russia’s shipbuilding sector, which will soon become a major driver of domestic economic growth.”
MMK has long been a partner to Russia’s shipbuilders, and is one of the largest suppliers of steel products to the Russian shipbuilding sector. Following the launch of Mill 5000 in 2009, steel plate produced by the mill was certified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the Russian River Register, as well as Norway’s Det Norske Veritas and Germany’s Germanischer Lloyd.