The shift in the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products, and LNG from the West to the East required an expansion of Russia fleet of large-capacity, deep-draft, high-ice-class tankers and the utilization of the Northern Sea Route. Annual steel consumption in Russia for shipbuilding amounts to 400,000 tons. In order to renew the outdated commercial fleet by 2031, the demand for shipbuilding steel could increase to one million tons per year if the decision is made to construct the vessels at Russian shipyards. By 2030, the demand for shipbuilding steel will reach 1.2 million tons, not including metal products for the icebreaker fleet and specialized vessels needed for navigation along the Northern Sea Route. The Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex in Bolshoy Kamen, Primorsky Krai, is the only shipyard in Russia capable of constructing large-capacity, deep-draft tankers and gas carriers from large modules. The shipyard was designed based on the principle of international cooperation. However, due to sanctions, relationships with foreign partners have been suspended. Currently, the issue of supplying the Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex with large-format steel plates produced in Russia is being addressed. Russia has three thick-plate rolling mills with reversing stands, with a combined annual production capacity of over three million tons. However, the production of high-strength steel for shipbuilding in Russia faces two main constraints. First, the continuous-cast slab is insufficiently thick to obtain wide-format plates, and the cast structure must be refined simultaneously. Second, the 5000 rolling mills lack specialized thermal units for quenching and subsequent tempering, which is necessary for producing high-strength, cold-resistant plates. Organizing the production of slabs with a thickness of at least 500 mm and equipping existing thick-plate rolling mills with quenching production capacities will significantly increase high-strength steel output for shipbuilding without the need for additional alloying. This will meet the needs of the domestic industry, which is task of national importance. This task is relevant because it ensures that Russian shipyards have the steel necessary to construct large-capacity vessels and Arctic-class marine structures.
