At the end of last year, an inspection was carried out at Russia's northernmost shipyard to assess the facility's current readiness. The inspection was led by Maxim Oreshkin, aide to the President of the Russian Federation, and Aleksey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic. The Zhatai shipyard, whose modernisation is eagerly anticipated by nearly all of the Republic of Sakha, is currently about 65% complete. According to Aysen Nikolaev, the head of Yakutia, the first vessel will be laid down there as early as 2025. 

Yakutia's maritime infrastructure is currently in dire need of a river fleet renewal, given its advanced age. As of 2017, the average age of ships operating in the Lena River basin was 34 years. Most were built in the Soviet Union, meaning they not only have significant wear and tear but also many outdated technological compromises that can now be addressed more efficiently, economically and safely. All of this necessitates meticulous maintenance and repair, resulting in increased time and money expenditures. In 2023, the Lena United River Shipping Company (PJSC LURSC) transported 1.487 mn tons of cargo, of which 391 thousand tons were oil products and the rest were dry cargoes. In most settlements in the Yakut Arctic, rivers are the only reliable means of communication with the mainland, serving as transportation, goods delivery and a way to sell their own products. With the development of the North Sea Route and significant changes in northern economic life related to the formation of the AZRF, communication between the northern regions and the centre is steadily increasing, necessitating rapid modernisation of the river fleet.

After the first phase is launched, the Zhatai shipyard won't be short of orders for the first 10–15 years. The company's press service proudly reports that around 130 new ships are planned to be built by 2036. The total production capacity will allow for the construction of 10 ships annually, the modernisation of 6 and the complete scrapping of 2. Additionally, ship captains and owners will have access to 432 thousand standard hours of inter-navigation maintenance and repair. PJSC LURSC, Alekseevskaya Fleet Repair and Exploitation Base, Kolyma Shipping Company and SK Alrosa-Lena are already in line. Currently, the first phase of the enterprise's modernisation has cost RUB 5.7 bn, with RUB 4.1 bn coming from the federal treasury and RUB 750 mn invested by the Republic of Sakha, which has committed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to complete the first construction phase in 2024. If the deadlines are met, Yakutia will take ownership of the shipyard (currently, 82.19% of shares are owned by the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo)).

Besides the need for repairing old ships and building new ones, the Republic of Sakha has another issue that desperately requires a large and modern shipyard. Numerous sunken ships lie at the bottom of Yakutian rivers that need to be salvaged and scrapped. For instance, the Lena River basin houses the largest ship graveyard, estimated to contain at least 300 units. These wrecks obstruct navigation, pollute the environment and generally represent a significant amount of useful metal wastefully buried in silt. In addition to figuring out how to salvage these ships, there's also the matter of recycling old ships, for which the renovated Zhatai shipyard would be perfectly suited.

It's fair to say that the modernisation of shipbuilding facilities in Yakutia is currently in full swing. The process of upgrading the Zhatai shipyard has been complex, as the entire set of measures was initially planned to be completed four years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted logistics and increased construction costs, followed by sanctions. Despite these challenges, they have been successfully overcome, and the first phase of production will soon commence. Additionally, a PJSC Yakutskenergo training and production centre complex and a new substation named 'Sudoverf' were constructed in the Zhatai settlement. Yakutia now has an additional location for training future river fleet employees, a demand that will only increase in the upcoming decades.