CURRENT STATE OF MERCHANT SHIPPING IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND ITS PLACE IN INTERNATIONAL MARITIME TRANSPORT OF GOODS

The article is devoted to an overview of the current state of the Russian merchant fleet and the participation of Russian shipowners in international maritime transport of goods. This study provides a brief analysis of trade in maritime transport services from the point of view of the motivation of Russian participants in foreign economic activity in attracting the domestic fleet, developing shipbuilding and providing competitive advantages for domestic shipowners. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that the competitiveness of the industry depends on two main factors: the construction cost of ships in the first place, as well as ship designs that determine their market quality.