Off the coast of Syria and near Norway’s border in the Arctic sail three frigates that are of utmost importance to Russia’s maritime power.
The frigates belong to the Admiral Gorshkov class, which are renowned and highly advanced ships in the Russian Navy. Equipped with Russia’s new Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, they have the capability to strike targets up to 1,000 kilometers away.
Based on official documents that Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have obtained, we can now reveal that these frigates are built using products from the Danish Rockwool Group.
For the past months Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have covered how large parts of the Russian Navy is insulated with Rockwool. These three frigates represent the most significant, prestigious, and crucial Russian project that is known to have used Rockwool thus far.
According to military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen from the Danish Defense Academy, the frigates play a vital role in Putin’s military strategy.
“They hold immense importance for Russia’s navy as they enable operations over great distances. The frigates possess substantial firepower, allowing them to engage other ships and even carry out land bombardments,” he explains.
Rockwool itself does not directly sell its products to end customers in the Russian market but relies on a network of distributors. Particularly one of these officially certified partners, a company called Marine Complex Systems LLC (“MKS”), is responsible for a significant portion of the deliveries of Rockwool to the Russian Navy, including those used for the frigates.
MKS, a Russian company with more than 150 employees, specializes in work on military ships for the Russian Ministry of Defense. It has military approval and is certified by the FSB to handle state secrets. And since at least 2013 it has been a regular distributor for Rockwool, supplying the Russian Navy with Rockwool products worth at least 100 million rubles.
For the frigates, the first deal occurred in October 2013, when MKS agreed to supply more than 3,000 square meters of Rockwool insulation to the Severnaya Verf shipyard. According to the documents, this stone wool insulation was specifically intended for the lead ship of the series, “Admiral Gorshkov.”
In August 2015, a year after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, MKS once again provided Rockwool insulation to Severnaya Verf. This involved two contracts, totaling 19,200 square meters of insulation for the subsequent ships in the series, namely “Admiral Kasatonov” and “Admiral Golovko.”
Overall, the three Rockwool contracts had a value of more than 12.1 million rubles, equivalent to over 1.5 million Danish kroner at the time.
Despite numerous inquiries from Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet, Rockwool has declined to be interviewed about how their materials ended up in the three frigates. Instead, we have sent a number of written questions to Rockwool’s Danish headquarters concerning the transactions and the cooperation with the distributor MKS.
However, Rockwool Group’s head of communications, Michael Zarin, chose to ignore these questions and instead provided a general statement about Rockwool’s continuing presence in Russia, which he had also previously sent us. He further writes:
“Through distributors, our products are widely available on the Russian market, as is the case in many other markets. Neither ROCKWOOL A/S nor our Russian subsidiaries directly sell to Russian end users or have a customer relationship with the Russian military.”
“At ROCKWOOL, we typically do not comment on the specific details you have inquired about regarding particular projects or customer relationships. However, as we have previously mentioned, ROCKWOOL maintains comprehensive guidelines for risk assessments and due diligence.”
Michael Zarin did not disclose what specific kind of risk assessment Rockwool has conducted in relation to the deliveries to the Russian military, nor did he explain why Rockwool continued its cooperation with MKS for several years despite MKS’ regular deliveries to the Russian military.
Rockwool’s factories in Russia are not directly subject to EU laws and sanctions. Nonetheless, Rockwool is committed to adhering to the UN Guidelines on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which require companies to ensure that they do not contribute to human rights violations at any stage of their value chain.
In collaboration with Ekstra Bladet, Danwatch has uncovered a systematic use of Rockwool for insulating ships for Russia’s Ministry of Defence. The investigation has so far identified the following projects:
Furthermore, the leading Danish stone wool producer has supplied insulation materials for use in the Russian Ministry of Defense headquarters in Moscow, the naval headquarters in St. Petersburg, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs head office in Moscow.
Fernanda Hopenhaym Cabrera is a member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights which works towards implementing and advising on the UNGPs. She believes that Rockwool bears responsibility for the fact that its products are now installed in three active frigates in Russia’s navy.
“If their subsidiary in Russia sells to distributors who then sell to the Russian military, then Rockwool naturally has a responsibility over the entire value chain. They can’t just say that they didn’t know,” says Hopenhaym Cabrera.
The UN guidelines are applicable to all companies, irrespective of whether they choose to acknowledge them or not. However, companies like Rockwool, which publicly commit to complying with the UNGPs, are expected to uphold those commitments, according to Hopenhaym Cabrera.
“A company that has a human rights policy and publicly commits to the UNGPs should have mechanisms in place to ensure that its products do not end up contributing to human rights violations,” she emphasizes.
Hopenhaym Cabrera points to the fact that two of the deliveries occurred after Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, a period marked by Russia’s military aggression and well-documented human rights violations. Under such circumstances, companies are expected to conduct enhanced due diligence for their business operations.
“It appears that Rockwool, in this instance, has not carried out this enhanced due diligence for their entire value chain and business partners. If they want to have operations that are human rights respecting and to comply with their human rights responsibilities, they should have taken greater action in this type of setting”.
In addition to the three frigates that are built already, the shipyard Severnaya Verf is currently constructing five more frigates of the same type. Furthermore, they have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense for two additional frigates.
This suggests that there may be more contracts involving Rockwool than the three that are known to Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet.
We have reached out to Severnaya Verf for a comment regarding their use of Rockwool for warships, but they have not returned our emails. However, in a 2020 article published by the Russian military publication Mil.Press, the shipyard’s press department confirmed the utilization of Rockwool in frigates:
“For corvettes, we purchase insulation from the company Tizol, and for frigates – from Rockwool”.
The press department further added, “Rockwool initially had supplies from Finland, but now the Rockwool factory operates in Vyborg. The quality of products from these companies meets the requirements of the supervisory authorities and our customer.”
We have also reached out to Rockwool’s distributor Marine Complex Systems LLC (“MKS”), but they did not respond to our request for comment.
The Russian Navy’s latest frigates has captured both international and domestic attention, making headlines worldwide.
The Admiral Gorshkov series of frigates, measuring 135 meters in length, boast a top speed of 29.5 knots and are equipped with an array of weaponry, including Kalibr cruise missiles, anti-aircraft guns, anti-submarine weapons, and the A-192M artillery system.
Notably, these frigates also feature Russia’s latest hypersonic Zircon missiles, capable of striking targets up to 1,000 kilometers away.
During a ceremony in January of this year, President Putin praised the frigates, particularly the inclusion of the Zircon missiles, as the frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” was commissioned into active combat duty.
“It [the Zircon missile] has no analogue in any country in the world. I know that such powerful weapons will make it possible to reliably defend Russia from potential external threats and will help ensure our national interests,” remarked President Putin.
The following video, sourced from Russia’s Ministry of Defense, showcases the “Admiral Gorshkov” conducting artillery fire against a naval target in the Atlantic Ocean in February 2023.
According to plan, “Admiral Gorshkov” will embark on an extensive voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean. The vessel is fully prepared for combat, as confirmed by Commander Ivan Krokhmal, who reported to President Putin during the ceremony in January.
Krokhmal stated that the ship was “equipped with ammunition for the missiles in the Zircon and Caliber systems, air defence systems, torpedo weapons, and artillery. The crew of the ship is ready to carry out the tasks of combat duty.”
Recently, satellite images captured “Admiral Gorshkov” at the Russian naval base in Tartus, a port city in Syria, on April 29.
According to Russian news agency Tass, the “Admiral Gorshkov”, which can accommodate a crew of up to 210, will be patrolling the Mediterranean during May and June. Afterward, it will return to Russia’s Northern Fleet based in Murmansk, near the Arctic border with Norway.
Military analyst Anders Puck Nielsen from the Danish Defense Academy assesses that this strategy aligns with the Russian navy’s objectives.
“These ships enable them to operate over great distances. Unlike small corvettes confined to naval bases, frigates like these can be deployed worldwide. Russia has utilized this capability for long voyages to regions such as the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. These frigates possess the endurance and long-range missile capabilities to cover vast areas. As a result, they pose a threat from considerable distances and bring substantial firepower to the battlefield,” he says.
The second frigate in the series, “Admiral Kasatonov,” which was commissioned in 2020, has also attracted significant attention in the media.
In March 2023, the frigate returned to the Northern Fleet base in Severomorsk after an unprecedented journey lasting over 420 days. Remarkably, the frigate had covered a distance equivalent to circling the world three times.
During its return voyage to Severomorsk, the “Admiral Kasatonov” attracted the attention of the Spanish, Dutch, and English fleets, who closely monitored the frigate’s passage through their respective waters.
In Severomorsk, the “Admiral Kasatonov” will be joined by the third frigate in the series, the “Admiral Golovko.” The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that “Admiral Golovko” is currently undergoing final tests at the Russian Navy’s combat training ranges in the Barents Sea. Following the completion of these tests, it is scheduled to officially join the Northern Fleet in June.
Apart from the three completed frigates already mentioned, the Severnaya Verf shipyard is actively engaged in the construction of five additional frigates of the same type.
These forthcoming vessels bear the names “Admiral Isakov,” “Admiral Amelko,” “Admiral Chichagov,” “Admiral Yumashev,” and “Admiral Spiridonov.”
Furthermore, Severnaya Verf has secured a contract for two more frigates named “Admiral Kapitanets” and “Admiral Vysotsky.”
In April 2019, Vladimir Putin personally visited the shipyard to commemorate the keel-laying ceremony for two of the under-construction frigates, “Admiral Amelko” and “Admiral Chichagov.”
Mathias Glistrup
Thomas Gösta Svensson
