The Danish corporation Rockwool continues to retain its businesses in Russia out of fear that Putin’s regime will take over the technology and profit from the company’s four Russian factories.

Now, Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet can reveal that for years, Rockwool has earned millions by selling its products to the very same regime for use in various military projects.

An examination of contracts in the Russian government’s official procurement database shows that Rockwool’s Russian partners have, in at least 21 cases, supplied Rockwool products worth a total of 123 million rubles (approximately 11.5 million kroner) to shipyards carrying out large orders on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

All contracts were signed after Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, and while the brutal war in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk was raging.

Here is one of the protocols prepared by an official procurement commission in 2017. It clearly shows that it concerns the delivery of Rockwool products to a vessel of project 23120, and that the contract is concluded with the company Marine Complex Systems LLC.


When Rockwool’s products end up on military equipment for the Russian Ministry of Defense, it often happens through Rockwool’s regular partner, Marine Complex Systems LLC (MKS LLC).

MKS LLC describes itself as “the official Rockwool distributor” and boasts of being one of the leading suppliers of insulation for shipbuilding. They are also certified by the Russian intelligence service FSB with permission to work with state secrets.

From open sources, Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have documentation showing that between 2016 and 2019, MKS LLC delivered Rockwool products worth at least 71 million rubles to projects for the Russian Ministry of Defense. This includes over 58,000 square meters of stone wool panels and over 3.5 tons of Rockwool adhesive.

In a contract from September 2017, for example, it appears that one of Rockwool’s Russian distributors, the company Marine Complex Systems LLC, has delivered Rockwool materials to the shipyard Severnaya Verf. Products that, according to the contract, were meant for the construction of the naval ship ‘Vsevolod Bobrov’.

The ship arrived in January 2022 to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the sea around Crimea – and the following months it played an active role in the bloody battle for the strategically important island of Zmeiny, also known as Snake Island, which Russia invaded on the first day of the 2022 invasion.

“The ship played a very active role in first transporting ammunition and military equipment to Zmeiny Island. Later, the ‘Vsevolod Bobrov’ received a Pantsir-S1 missile system on board to provide support against air attacks, so the ship was not only used for transportation but also in combat,” explains Ukrainian milirary analyst Alexander Kovalenko.

Images from the Crimean naval base in Sevastopol appears to show the Pantsir-S1 missile system on the deck of the ship around that time.

This photo from the Telegram account “Military Information” (Военный Осведомитель) shows a Pantsir-S1 missile system on board the ‘Vsevolod Bobrov’.

Predictable violations

Tara Van Ho, one of the world’s leading experts in human rights and business at Essex Law School in England, has evaluated the documentation – and is particularly critical of Rockwool’s supply to the ship ‘Vsevolod Bobrov’.

“In 2017, Russia was responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law with the two illegal occupations of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. Providing their military with equipment for ships, planes, and artillery all entails a risk that the products contribute to international crimes. And in this case with ‘Vsevolod Bobrov’, that risk has materialized,” she explains.

“It matters here whether Rockwool has supplied material for use in a predictable and serious violation of human rights. They have done so, and they should be held accountable”.

Soundproofing the Ministry of Defense

Rockwool’s products have also been used for other projects than those listed in the procurement database. Rockwool in Russia proudly states on social media that in 2007, they supplied materials for the frigate Admiral Gorshkov, and in 2015, they soundproofed the iconic headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow.

In 2015, Rockwool advertised on their VK account that they had soundproofed the iconic headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow (machine-translated from Russian).

Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have asked Rockwool a series of questions about the work for the Ministry of Defense, as well as the specific navy projects between 2015 and 2020, including the ship ‘Vsevolod Bobrov’.

Rockwool refuses to participate in an interview. Instead, Michael Zarin, Communications Director of the Rockwool Group, has sent a written response, although he does not address the 21 recent navy projects carried out in the years after 2014:

“Rockwool does not have a customer relationship with the Russian government or other public entities. The examples cited are old and date back to 2007. The situation today is significantly different, and we fully respect the applicable sanctions.”

“In Russia, we no longer produce specific products for this segment,” he says without elaborating further on what that means.

(Read Michael Zarin’s full response at the bottom of the article).

Anti-sabotage ships filled with Rockwool

Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have also asked Rockwool about a number of images published by Vympel shipyard showing large quantities of Rockwool being used in the construction of four armed anti-sabotage ships that were handed over to the Russian navy in 2017.

The images have been publicly available on several Russian websites and news media. However, Rockwool does not want to comment on the four specific ships, whether they knew about the project and what they think about their products being used in the production of the ships. Instead, the communications director responds in a general manner:

“In Europe alone, we distribute more than 120 million packages of stone wool annually. Our products are widely available on both the Russian and Ukrainian markets through a wide range of distributors. Therefore, it is also impossible for us to know or have any form of control over who all the end-users are.”

The anti-sabotage ships were showcased to Putin during a naval parade in St. Petersburg, 2017. Source: @admiraltynavyband on Youtube.

Should be further investigated

Rockwool’s four factories in Russia are owned 100 percent by the Rockwool Group in Denmark. Because they are subsidiaries in Russia, they are subject to Russian law and as such not immediately covered by the EU sanctions that were imposed in 2014 after Russia’s invasion and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The sanctions prohibit, among other things, the sale of certain products to the Russian military.

However, the EU also states that there are exceptions. For example, employees with EU citizenship in a Russian subsidiary can be held personally responsible if they are involved in transactions in Russia that violate the sanctions. A parent company can also be held responsible if it actively approves transactions that violate the sanctions.

Tara Van Ho believes that the Danish authorities should investigate the matter with Rockwool to see if there may have been a breach of EU sanctions in connection with deliveries to the Russian military.

“In view of the seriousness of the situation, I think it is important that the public is assured whether Rockwool violated EU sanctions or not. I cannot assess that from the outside, and therefore Danish authorities should investigate it,” she says.

Danwatch and Ekstra Bladet have asked the following questions to Rockwool:

  • We can see that in the spring of 2022 (see attached), the shipyard Kronstadt requested Rockwool products. Did Rockwool deliver this order to Russia directly or through a distributor? Since February 24, 2022, has Rockwool delivered products in Russia either directly or through a distributor, where the order falls under the Russian Ministry of Defense?
  • We can see that since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, distributors have delivered Rockwool products for at least 123 million rubles to orders ultimately issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense. What did Rockwool in Denmark know about these orders?
  • Does Rockwool believe that the deliveries ultimately issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense comply with Rockwool’s own Code of Conduct, including compliance with UNGP?
  • How does Rockwool feel about its products being used in Russia’s military, which has illegally annexed Crimea since 2014 and has repeatedly violated human rights?
  • How many orders ultimately issued by the Russian Ministry of Defense have Rockwool delivered products to, and what was the value of these orders?
  • We can see in a contract (see attached) that Rockwool’s regular partner Marine Complex Systems (ООО «Морские комплексные системы») has delivered Rockwool products to the Severnaya shipyard for Project 23120, ship 881 “Vsevolod Bobrov”. This ship has been actively involved in the current conflict in Ukraine according to Ukrainian and international media, and was involved in an incident in May 2022. What does Rockwool think about a ship in the Russian Navy, which is insulated with Rockwool, playing an active role in the current conflict?
  • Rockwool itself states that it delivered sound insulation to the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow in 2015 (see attached). Does Rockwool believe that this complies with Rockwool’s own Code of Conduct, including compliance with UNGP?
  • On open Russian websites and on the Vympel Shipyard’s website, several pictures (see attached) show that Rockwool’s products have been used for Project 21980 anti-sabotage boats. Did Rockwool know about this, and what does Rockwool think about this delivery?
  • In an article on Rockwool’s website about 25 years in Russia, it is stated that Rockwool delivered products to the Russian warship, the frigate Admiral Gorshakov, which was built at the Severnaya shipyard in 2007. In 2020, the shipyard’s press office stated that Rockwool was used in the construction of the shipyard’s frigates (link). How many frigates built by the Severnaya shipyard were built with Rockwool products, and how much did Rockwool earn from these orders?
  • In 2019, CEO Jens Birgersson participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) (link). Did Jens Birgersson speak with President Putin on that occasion? Has Jens Birgersson met with President Putin on other occasions?

Michael Zarin, Communications Director of the ROCKWOOL Group, responds as follows:

“ROCKWOOL does not have a customer relationship with the Russian government or other public entities. The examples cited are old and date back as far as 2007. The situation today is significantly different, and we fully respect the sanctions in force at any given time. ROCKWOOL did not participate in the contract tender for the Kronstad Marine Plant project mentioned in 2022. In Russia, we no longer produce specific products for this segment.

In Europe alone, we distribute more than 120 million packs of stone wool each year. Our products are widely available in both the Russian and Ukrainian markets through a wide range of distributors. Therefore, it is also impossible for us to know or have any control over who all the end users are.

It is absolutely correct that ROCKWOOL’s CEO, Jens Birgersson, participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2019 with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and over a thousand other politicians and business leaders. Jens participated in a roundtable session with about 70-100 other people, where President Putin spoke, among others. He has never met him one-on-one or in smaller gatherings.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have chosen to maintain passive ownership of our four factories in Russia. We do this because we believe it is the least bad solution in a situation where we really only have bad solutions to choose from. The four factories operate completely independently of the headquarters in Denmark and without any form of support. If we choose to leave Russia, we know that the factories will be taken over by a local actor and continue to operate as if nothing had happened – just in Russian hands. That would be giving the Russian regime four well-functioning factories, our unique technology, all earnings, and all future cash flows. We do not believe that contributes to anything good for Ukraine. Instead, we choose to do what we believe serves the Russian regime the least well, namely to maintain passive ownership.”

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