The Russian government has officially announced that it will lift the current duties on imported yachts and boats into Russia, with the aim of providing an impetus for the development of yachting in the country.

Elena Lashkina, an aide to Russia’s minister for economic development, says the lifting of duties will take place as part of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s recent order to the national government to prepare proposals for the creation of favourable conditions for sailing in coastal areas of the country and the overall development of yachting in Russia.

Since the annexation of Crimea last year, the development of yachting has become one of the Russian government’s main priorities.

At the same time, some Russian analysts in the field of yachting believe that the lifting of duties is not enough, as the lack of infrastructure for storage, servicing and the maintenance of yachts, so far, is one of the biggest problems restricting the development of yachting in Russia. Because of this, Russian boat and yacht owners traditionally prefer to keep their vessels abroad.

According to analysts at the Russian Ministry of Sport and Tourism (a state agency responsible for the development of yachting in Russia), annual yacht repair and maintenance costs for Russian yacht owners are estimated at around €200m. Most of these funds, to date, have been spent in the EU states.

According to several leading yacht importers in Russia, final customs payment usually accounts for around 40% of the total cost of a vessel imported into the country.

The Russian government is said to be aware of the current situation regarding lack of yachting infrastructure and is looking at ways to rectify the problem.

Infrastructure development in Russia is expected to take place as part of the existing federal target program ‘Development of domestic tourism in the Russian Federation (2011-2018)’. The program involves turning Crimea into a new centre of yachting in Russia and building of new yachting marinas in different parts of Russia.