31. Aug '23Trade

Disclosure: Putin’s newest nuclear submarines are built with Rockwool

Rockwool has sold ship insulation that has ended up in three of the most modern and cutting-edge submarines in Russia’s navy. Two of the submarines are an important part of Russia’s nuclear weapons strategy, says expert.

The submarine "Belgorod" belongs to the GUGI naval base located in the small Olenya Bay on Russia's northwestern Kola Peninsula. A direct access to the Barents Sea and just 100 kilometres east of the Norwegian border.

Mathias Glistrup
Investigative journalist / mg@danwatch.dk
Thomas Gösta Svensson
Redaktør

Three of the most advanced submarines in the Russian navy are equipped with ship insulation from the Danish Rockwool Group. These include the submarines “Belgorod” and “Prince Vladimir”, both of which can be equipped with the most modern nuclear weapons in Russia’s arsenal.

This is revealed in official tender documents from Russia, which Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet are in possession of.

“It’s a very interesting finding,” says Professor Michael Petersen, head of the Russia Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College.

With a background in both US military intelligence and the National Security Council, he has for a long time followed the development of Russia’s naval capabilities.

“These submarines are part of Russia’s latest generation of advanced submarines,” he says.

The Russian documents reveal how in June and September 2014 – a few months after Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula – Rockwool’s regular partner, Marine Complex Systems LLC (“MKS”), signed the first contracts for the delivery of more than 15,000 square metres of ship insulation to the state-owned Sevmash shipyard.

The material also reveals that the deliveries of Rockwool insulation of the SeaRox SL 440 brand worth 4.7 million rubles (about 700,000 DKK) were specifically intended for the construction of the two advanced submarines “Belgorod” and “Prince Vladimir”.

Around two years later, in December 2016, MKS again enters into an agreement for supplies to a Russian submarine. This time the contract is with the shipyard Admiralty, which is ordering almost 1,700 square metres of SeaRox SL 400 to build the diesel-powered attack submarine “Velikie Luki”.

The nuclear submarine “Prince Vladimir” is pictured here during its first test voyages in 2019 in the White Sea, where it successfully test-launched both its missiles and torpedoes. Photo: HoteitH via Wikimedia Commons

Violation of human rights responsibilities

Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have previously revealed how Rockwool’s products have been sold through the distributor MKS to large parts of the Russian navy – including frigates, spy ships and vessels for Putin’s secret navy.

In this connection, the Danish Business Authority has investigated Rockwool and assessed that the company has not violated EU sanctions in Russia.

Jacob Dahl Rendtorff, professor of business ethics at Roskilde University, believes that the actions are an expression of ‘utter moral blindness’.

“It’s an expression of the idea that business is business and that you have no responsibility for the people you sell to.”

“They have probably seen the deals with the military as an advantage in Russia, because it has given them legitimacy in that market, and they have probably also been proud to sell to high-tech submarines. They haven’t thought about the moral issues at all – and this is an expression of utter moral blindness,” he says.

However, he also believes that the deals can be seen as an expression of ‘a general attitude’ in the West in the wake of the annexation of Crimea.

“The fact that the deals happened right after the annexation of Crimea is also a reflection of the general attitude in the West, where we didn’t pay enough attention to comprehensive sanctions because it also affected our own economy.”

“But again, it shows that there’s no moral consideration of what the products are used for.”

Rockwool has the power to impose conditions on their official distributors, and they should have used this power

Dr. Tara van Ho

Essex Law School

However, companies like Rockwool are also obliged to comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which require companies to ensure that they do not contribute to human rights violations at every level of their value chain.

And Tara Van Ho, one of the world’s leading experts on human rights and business at the Human Rights Centre at Essex Law School in the UK, finds it highly problematic that Rockwool’s materials were sold to the Russian military after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“When Russia illegally invaded and annexed parts of Ukraine in 2014, companies that supply equipment to the military, whether it be weapons or insulation, should have taken measures to limit their support to the Russian military.”

“Rockwool has the power to impose conditions on their official distributors, and they should have used this power to ensure that distributors comply with human rights standards, including stopping sales to the Russian military. Failure to do so is a breach of Rockwool’s human rights responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles,” she says.

Designed for nuclear attack

The submarine “Belgorod” in particular has made headlines around the world. The submarine, which with its 184 metres is the world’s longest, was after testing in the summer of 2022 delivered from the Sevmash shipyard to Russia’s top-secret GUGI military programme at the Arctic port city of Murmansk. GUGI is particularly known for its covert deep-sea missions to map critical infrastructure on the seabed, and the service reports directly to Vladimir Putin and the general staff in Moscow.

According to Michael Petersen, both the Belgorod’s potential armament and experimental design make it a unique submarine that is crucial for Russia in its quest for a head start in the nuclear arms race with the NATO alliance.

“It is designed to carry autonomous, nuclear-powered and unmanned Poseidon submersibles. Poseidon is a strategic nuclear weapon designed to give Russia a strategic advantage by remaining hidden underwater and bypassing Western defenses to carry out a nuclear attack on coastal infrastructure,” he says.

The backbone of Russia’s nuclear strategy

Russian President Putin has publicly praised the Belgorod several times and was also on a live video link from the Kremlin when the submarine was officially launched in 2019.

In 2012, when the second nuclear-powered submarine built with Rockwool, the “Prince Vladimir”, was to be laid at the Sevmash shipyard in the White Sea city of Severodvinsk, Putin personally attended the solemn ceremony. Among other things, he expressed an expectation that the submarine would become “one of the symbols of the Russian armed forces”.

Vladimir Putin in front of the hull of the “Prince Vladimir” in 2012. Photo: Kremlin.ru

According to Michael Petersen, “Prince Vladimir” – along with the other submarines in the Borei-A class, which is an updated version – forms the backbone of Russia’s sea-based nuclear deterrence strategy.

“It is Russia’s most advanced nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. It is armed with 16 Bulava SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), each capable of carrying up to 10 nuclear warheads.”

“Once they are at sea, they are hard to locate. In a period of heightened tension leading to potential conflict, Russia is likely to send these submarines to sea, where they will quietly lie in wait for orders to launch nuclear weapons,” he says.

For this reason, according to Michael Petersen, the Borei-A class submarines are a key part of the Russian nuclear weapons programme.

“And they almost certainly will continue to be for the next two decades, at least,” he says.

Acknowledges fleet sales

Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have asked Rockwool a number of questions about the deliveries to the submarines, including whether they had investigated what the products were to be used for when they were sold to the shipyard Sevmash in 2014, and whether Rockwool makes demands on its distributors about the end use of the products.

However, Michael Zarin, Head of Communications at Rockwool Gruppen, does not answer this question, but writes in an email:

“ROCKWOOL A/S is aware that general insulation products – as well as insulation products for use in civilian marine applications sold through the Russian subsidiaries’ external distributors – have in certain cases been used in Russian naval vessels similar to how these products are used on all types of ships worldwide – including commercial and industrial vessels, as well as cruise ships and yachts. ROCKWOOL products cannot be weaponised or used for military purposes in general. No rock wool products are classified as dual-use.”

Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have asked Rockwool the following questions about the sale of SeaRox to the three submarines in the Russian navy:

Was Rockwool aware before the deliveries that Rockwool products would be used for the three submarines?
Did Rockwool receive specifications for the three submarines before the order was placed?
How does Rockwool feel about Searox being used in three of the most advanced submarines in the Russian navy, of which two of them can be equipped with nuclear missiles?
Are the Searox products that were sold for the three submarines manufactured in Russia with raw materials imported from Europe?
Rockwool’s regular distributor, MKS LLC, claims to be a major supplier to Russia’s warships. Did Rockwool have any reservations about partnering with a company that primarily specialises in supplying to the military?
Can Rockwool provide documentation that you have performed the necessary due diligence in connection with the deliveries to your distributor, MKS, and its systematic sales to the Russian navy?

Between 2015 and 2020, MKS LLS alone has alone equipped Russian warships with Rockwool products worth over 200 million rubles, equivalent to more than 156,000 m2 of Rockwool stone wool panels and thousands of kilos of Rockwool adhesives. Is this compatible with Rockwool’s values?
On the MKS website you will find a certificate where Rockwool has appointed MKS as an official distributor in Russia. What requirements and guidelines has Rockwool set for your official distributors and partners in relation to the end use of the products?

Michael Zarin, Head of Communications at the ROCKWOOL Group, answers these questions:

“ROCKWOOL A/S is aware that general insulation products – as well as insulation products for use in civil marine applications sold through the Russian subsidiaries’ external distributors – have in some cases been used in Russian naval vessels similar to how these products are used on all types of ships worldwide – including commercial and industrial vessels, as well as cruise ships and yachts. ROCKWOOL products can neither be weaponised nor used for military purposes in general. No rock wool products are classified as dual-use.

All in all, these are harmless products whose main use is to insulate houses and buildings to improve energy efficiency. Neither ROCKWOOL A/S nor our Russian subsidiaries sell directly to Russian end users or have a customer relationship with the Russian military. For the record, as we’ve said before, the production of marine insulation products in Russia will cease in March 2022.

At ROCKWOOL, we don’t usually comment on the details you ask about that relate to specific project or customer relationships – including those that happened almost 10 years ago. But as we’ve said before, ROCKWOOL has extensive guidelines when it comes to risk assessments and due diligence. ROCKWOOL has complied with all Russia-related sanctions, which the Danish Business Authority has also concluded.”