Spat Grows Over Shipyard Contracts

Amid a growing spat over naval contracts, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Tuesday lashed out at overspending at two St. Petersburg shipyards that state arms trader Rosoboronexport is reportedly trying to acquire, and backed the idea of a national shipbuilding holding. At a St. Petersburg meeting with the government’s maritime collegium, Ivanov, who also serves as a deputy prime minister and heads the government’s military procurement commission, accused the privately owned Severnaya Verf and Baltiisky Zavod shipyards of cost overruns and mismanagement on a warships contract.