Mistral : les 400 marins russes quittent Saint-Nazaire. 400 Russian sailors leave Saint-Nazaire.
Les marins russes qui étaient présents depuis juin à Saint-Nazaire pour être formés sur le Mistral vont quitter la France. Un départ pour une durée indéterminée, ce qui pose la question du devenir du Mistral censé être vendu à la Russie.
The Russian sailors who have been in Saint-Nazaire since June training on the Mistral class carrier are leaving France. Leaving for an indefinite period, leads to the question what will become of the Mistral supposed to be sold to the Russians?
Les Russes quittent le port de Saint-Nazaire. La DCNS (groupe industriel spécialisé dans l’industrie navale) a confirmé ce mercredi une information du quotidien Ouest France. Les 400 marins russes en formation à Saint-Nazaire vont quitter la France pour “une durée indéterminée“, selon la DCNS, “définitivement“, selon Ouest France. “Je peux confirmer que les marins russes vont rentrer avant les fêtes de fin d’année“, a indiqué un porte-parole du groupe industriel.
The Russians are leaving the port. The DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales – French group specialising in naval defence) confirmed on Wednesday in the daily newspaper Ouest France. The 400 sailors on training in Saint Nazaire are going to leave France for “an undetermined duration” according to DCNS, “definitively”, according to Ouest France. “I can confirm that the Russian sailors are going to return home before the end of year festival”, indicated a spokes-person for the group.
Les marins étaient arrivés en juin pour faire des essais sur le Mistral, et être formés sur le bateau. Le Vladivostok, premier Mistral français vendu à la Russie devait être remis à Moscou mi-novembre mais la livraison a été suspendue par François Hollande suite à la crise ukrainienne. Ce départ des marins russes montre que les négociations sont au point mort. Le contrat est d’1,2 milliard d’euros.
The sailors arrived in June to go on sea trails on the Mistral, and to train on the ship. The Vladivostok, the first French Mistral sold to Russia was to be delivered to Moscow in mid-November but the delivery was suspended by Francois Hollande following the Russian military crisis in Ukraine. The departure of the sailors shows the negotiations are dead. The contract is worth €1.2M.
Opinion: Despite direct head to head talk with Hollande and Poutine and the Russian minister of Defence saying nothing rash would be done to terminate the contract, no progress seems to have been made. There is a second carrier under construction for delivery in fifteen months but unless the crisis in Ukraine is resolved by a return to “normality” as demanded by Hollande, neither ship will be delivered. There are serious penalties for breach of contract on either side, but it is France who are refusing to complete deliveries so they will be penalised. But as France are in the vanguard of European sanctions, with the ships not being delivered, then there will be pressure on Europe to make good the loss. Also there is a possibility, albeit remote that the ships could be modified for another customer, also however at a loss to the ship-builder. But it a political decision that prevents the ships going to Russia, and not a business one. So DCNS, who are prepared to complete the contract, will have to be re-imbursed by the government. Also this is very lucrative contract and with Russia being a new customer for this type of vessel, the chances are Russia will never again make a contract with DCNS. France, along with many other EU countries, is already suffering with their refusal to sell agricultural produce to Russia, leading to a glut of fresh produce in France during the summer. But the sanctions seem to be having some effect on the Russian economy. The Rouble is on it’s knees so the Russian economy must be suffering and the population must be suffering also. The fall in oil prices has also come at a very bad time for Russia. But unless there is a radical change in policy on Ukraine the Russians will not get their ships from Saint-Nazaire.