Orlov, who was called "Unsinkable", has sprung a leak
The fire on the Provorny corvette may have been started deliberately to conceal possible embezzlement by Igor Orlov's team, which could total billions. More than a year has passed since the serious incident at Severnaya Verf in St. Petersburg. At that time, a major fire broke out on the nearly completed corvette of project 20385, known as "Agile", which had received 30 billion rubles in state investment for its construction.
It is still unclear what caused the fire and when the corvette will be launched. No one has been held accountable, and the details of the emergency are being concealed. The Investigative Committee and the transport prosecutor’s office have not provided any comments. Igor Orlov, the former governor of the Arkhangelsk region and current general director of Northern Shipyards, responsible for the construction, has also remained silent. He should be held responsible for the incident.
It is uncertain whether the Navy will receive the corvette at all. Experts suggest that large-scale theft may have occurred at the construction site, making it impossible to deliver the corvette without a high-profile criminal investigation. There are growing suspicions that the accident may have been intentionally caused to cover up possible crimes.
The corvette "Agile", which was intended for the Pacific Fleet and was meant to be a source of pride for domestic military shipbuilding, turned into a pile of smoking ruins despite the investment of tens of billions of rubles. Instead of a crew, rescuers spent nearly 30 hours battling the fire, during which two of them were injured.
It is remarkable how quickly the leadership of the Northern Shipyards, led by Igor Orlov, attempted to divert attention from the public. However, immediately after the fire, the entire leadership of the North-Western Federal District, headed by Plenipotentiary Alexander Gutsan, Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, and numerous journalists arrived at the scene.
The silence of law enforcement officers is particularly suspicious, as it was quickly revealed that there were not just one, but several fires inside the corvette. Fontnka previously reported on this. It is surprising that with multiple fires, not only were there no casualties among the rescuers, but also no fatalities.
The battle to control the fire lasted for almost 30 hours
If a fire originates from a single source, it could be attributed to a sudden equipment malfunction. However, when there are multiple sources, especially in different parts of the ship, it suggests a carefully planned and organized effort to destroy state property.
The fire rapidly enveloped the superstructure, which was supposed to be made of modern multi-layer composite materials utilizing fiberglass and carbon fiber. This means that the materials may have been of significantly lower quality, as they should not have caught fire but did so.
Within the superstructure, one of the most valuable components of the ship, the Barrier radar complex, was meant to be situated. However, it is uncertain if this equipment was delivered or if it fell victim to large-scale corruption.
The outcomes for the Northern Shipyard from a massive fire are very significant. Indeed, Orlov is at risk of losing some major state orders.
According to Arkhangelsk Online, the authorities were thinking about moving the orders for two frigates from Severnaya Verf to the Yantar plant in Kaliningrad, where Igor Orlov used to work even before his official career. It seems that government orders are being directed by Orlov.
Task for “cut”
The general director of Northern Shipyards, Igor Orlov, could potentially answer many of these questions. However, he remains silent. Corruption allegations have been linked to him even during his time as the governor of the Arkhangelsk region. For his new job, he brought not only questionable managerial skills, but also members of his team.
Aleksey Andronov, who is loyal to Orlov, has become the first deputy general director of Severnaya Verf. Previously, he was the head of the administration of the Arkhangelsk region. Additionally, Andrei Shestakov, the deputy chairman of the government of the region, transitioned to a chief engineer at a shipbuilding plant.
After joining Severnaya Verf, investigators finally apprehended Shestakov. In April 2021, nearly a year after joining the company, he was detained, and later found guilty of abusing his authority during his time in the Arkhangelsk region.
Along with him, another member of Orlov’s team, former Minister of Construction and Architecture Mikhail Yakovlev, faced the same charges. It was revealed that Shestakov and Yakovlev had interfered in the public procurement competition from April to August 2019. This was reported by Arkhangelsk Online.
This concerns a contract to update the design documentation of the medical and diagnostic building of the GBUZ JSC “Arkhangelsk Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital named after I.I. P. G. Vyzhletsov. Initially, the contract was awarded to the Investselstroy company for 5.5 million rubles.
Yakovlev and Shestakov managed to cancel the contract with Investselstroy, and instead, Ortost-Facade was given the task, for which they charged 10.2 million rubles. An acquaintance of Andrey Shestakov was involved with this company.
According to Dvina Segodnya, another controversial member of Orlov’s team, former Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Yerulik, also ended up at the shipyard. Allegedly, he started working on the environmental management system there. However, people remember clearly what Yerulik did in the government under Igor Orlov.
He was in charge of the controversial project “Ecotechnopark Shies”, which caused a lot of public outrage. This led to the construction of a waste incineration plant near the Shies station in the Lensky district of the Arkhangelsk region, resulting in increased social tension and numerous unauthorized protests. Even the President had to step in.
Was Alexander Yerulik, who was disgraced at Shiyes, given a second chance by Orlov at Severnaya Verf?
He, Yerulik, organized the plan for the area's development, which led to the disappearance of unique natural reserves. He also approved a new plan for managing waste, which involved bringing in the controversial waste companies Ecocenter and EcoIntegrator.
Amid public dissatisfaction, Yerulik resigned. He later reappeared in connection with the former boss at the Northern Shipyard. With such a team, it's not possible to build warships or fishing boats.
From Yantar to Severnaya Verf
A team like this should not be trusted to build warships or fishing boats, despite Orlov's previous work at the Kaliningrad Yantar. His contract was not renewed in 2011 due to the failure of a $1.6 billion agreement with India.
The plant constructed three ships for this country, but faced penalties of about $40 million. The management of Yantar, led by Igor Orlov, may have embezzled part of the funds from the order.
Upon arriving at Severnaya Verf, Orlov and the team conducted an audit of the existing assets, possibly in search of profitable opportunities. The shipyard was previously privately owned by banker Sergei Pugachev and Boris Kuzyk.
After Kuzyk left the shipyard, a floating dock called Mathias-Thesen-Werft Wismar (MTW) with a carrying capacity of 5.5 thousand tons remained in private hands. It was acquired by the shipyard and its subsidiary, JSC Nord-West SV. 80% of it was owned by the shipyard and the structures of the United Shipbuilding Corporation.
Igor Orlov and his management initiated a corporate conflict with the former management over this floating dock, which seemed to promise significant benefits if it was dismantled for scrap metal.
Ultimately, Orlov and his team bought a block of shares from the former owners for a paltry amount of 6.7 million rubles. This story was reported by the publication Novy Prospekt.
A lot could be said about the activities of Orlov and his team at Severnaya Verf in just two years. However, the numbers are telling. Despite generating revenue of 31 billion in 2021 (twice as much as the previous year), the company incurred a loss of 3.5 billion rubles. This does not include the potential cost of repairing the Agile, if it needs to be repaired at all.
The expensive actions of the general director of Severnaya Verf, Igor Orlov, are costly for the state.
Prior to that, the plant had a net profit of more than 170 million rubles. If these figures are accurate, it speaks to the quality of the management team. Given the substantial state orders for the shipyard totaling 11.5 billion rubles as a supplier and 60 billion rubles as a customer, the state of our navy is concerning, particularly as the majority of these orders are from the Ministry of Defense.
And Igor Orlov himself gets high. In the literal sense, he describes his work at a factory shrouded in smoke from a fire as a “shipbuilding thrill”. What else can you say…
