Ukraine to Build a Corvette Class Ship by 2016

KYIV, Ukraine, May 18, 2011 - Ukraine is serious about reviving and further development of its
ship-building industry in Mykolaiv region (South Ukraine - Ed.). This is the
theme of the visit of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to
Chernomorsky Shipyard in Mykolaiv, where he participated in laying the keel
of the corvette class ship for the Naval Force of Ukraine.

During the visit the President commended the ship-building employees for
their patience and faith. "I am confident that together we will create with
you all the motivation for the development of shipbuilding", said the
Ukrainian leader. This will be the third ship of corvette class that Ukraine
will build since its independence.

It's been reported earlier that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine plans
to allocate about UAH 16.22 billion (about $ 2 billion) to finance the
construction of four corvette-class ships until 2021. The first ship of the
corvette class is planned to leave the shipyard in 2016.

Chernomorsky shipyard is located to the south west of the city of
Mykolaiv at the Black Sea. The shipyard is one of the largest in Europe
possessing the ship-building and machine-building capacity and is certified
by Germanisher Lloyds, Shipping Register of Ukraine and Russian Shipping
Register.

Ukraine is famous to have built missile and aircraft carriers, large
antisubmarine ships, heavy transport ships, boats, lighter carriers and
multi-purpose icebreaking supply vessels. Overall, there are about 25 branch
research institutes, 7 large plants that produce ship engines and ship
equipment for ship building industry, 11 shipyards and 11 factories that
produce ship instruments in Ukraine. Nowadays, experts claim that Ukrainian
shipbuilding operates at 40 percent capacity.

The history of Ukrainian shipbuilding is closely connected to the
shipbuilding history of the former Soviet Union, which owned approximately 30
percent of the global market share in producing navy ships and was among the
top 10 countries in the world to produce cargo and passenger vessels.
Ukrainian shipyards played a vital role in the military and civilian
shipbuilding. In the 90s when Ukraine became independent the number of state
order for navy vessels has decrease substantially and the state wasn't ready
to maintain the industry. In the last 10 years Ukrainian shipyards started to
reorganize their operations and look for alternative solutions.

For more information, contact Maryna Khorunzha +380443324784,
news at wnu-ukraine.com, Project Manager at Worldwide News Ukraine