"This goal is immaculate," Igor Shuvalov, who is also Sovcomflot board chairman, said. "But against the backdrop of accusations of the government, and the [Russian] leadership as a whole, either of nationalization or putting business assets under [state] control, I am hampered in clinching the deal quickly, although there is every precondition for this."
"As far as I understand, some officials involved in interim decision making are afraid to be accused of contributing to a new consolidation of assets by the government," he said, adding that, in any case, the consolidation is beneficial even if a certain stake in the new venture is privatized in the future.
Sovcomflot currently has a fleet of 51 vessels and specializes in operating ice class vessels for industrial projects in the Baltic, Far Eastern and Arctic regions, and General Director Sergei Frank said earlier the company intends to become a global leader in ice operations.
