Admiralty Shipyard The Admiralty Shipyard ( Admiralty Wharves ) ( ) ( " formerly Soviet Shipyard No . 194 " ) is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia , located in Saint Petersburg . The shipyard ' s building ways can accommodate ships of up to , 250 meters in length and 35 meters in width . Military products include naval warships such as nuclear and diesel - powered submarines and large auxiliaries . History . The shipyard was founded as the Galley Yard by Peter the Great during the Great Northern War on 5 November 1704 and located in the open ground along the Neva River behind the Admiralty building . It was administered by the Russian Admiralty , hence its later name . In 1721 it was renamed " Galley Wharf " and in 1800 the " New Admiralty Yard " , supplementing and in 1841 soon replacing the " Galley Wharf " . In 1908 , it was renamed the Admiralty Shipyard . In 1937 its two sections were known as " Admiralty " and " Sudomekh " , Shipyards No . 194 and No . 196 , respectively . In 1966 it once again became the " New Admiralty Shipyard " as in 1800 and , in 1972 , the " Leningrad Admiralty Association " . The latest name changes occurred in 1992 – " State Enterprise " Admiralty Wharves " " – and in 2001 – " Federal State Unitary Enterprise " Admiralty Wharves " " . Finally , in 2008 , it became an open stock company – OAO " Admiralty Wharves " . From its founding through 1917 the shipyard built more than 1000 vessels and ships , including 137 large sail warships , about 700 medium and small sail and oared vessels , and more than 100 iron ships , including 25 armored warships and 8 cruisers . In 1959 it delivered the world ' s first non - naval nuclear - powered vessel , the icebreaker " LENIN " . In the 19th century it was a major builder of battleships and submarines and cruisers in the 20th . Since the mid - 1950s its surface - ship facilities have specialized in large merchant ships , icebreakers , large rescue and salvage ships , fish - factory ships , floating dry docks , and a few naval auxiliaries . Examples of non - military production from the Admiralty Wharves abound in St . Petersburg , from the bronze tablets , candelabra , and angel of the Alexander Column in Palace Square , the statuary and roof of St . Isaac ' s Cathedral , a number of bridges over the canals , and most of the ornate cast iron fencing in old St . Petersburg . All were products of the shipyard ' s foundry . Submarines . In 1966 , the shipyard delivered the Victor I - class nuclear attack submarine , and later the Victor II and Victor III - class submarines as well as the titanium hulled Alfa - class . From 1973 to 1998 , the shipyard has built 298 submarines , including 41 nuclear submarines , as well as 68 submersibles . The specialized submersibles produced include the civilian Sever - 2 ( 1969 ) , Tinro - 2 ( 1972 ) , Bentos ( 1975 – 1982 ) , Tetis ( 1976 ) , Osa , Argus , and Osmotr ( 1988 ) types , plus the naval Lima , Uniform , Xray , Beluga , and Paltus classes . Admiralty Shipyards still specializes in submarine shipbuilding . The most recently built submarines include Kilo class submarine s ( ) and the smaller Petersburg / Lada class ( ) . In 1992 Iran purchased two Kilo class submarines for $ 600 million from the United Admiralty Sudomekh shipyard , with an option to buy a third . The shipyard ' s latest development are the Lada class submarine and its export version , the Amur class submarine , which does not yet have a customer . A unique deep - sea research vehicle “ Konsul ” is the first Russian deep - diving vehicle of the third generation , capable of diving as deep as and working for 10 hours using a manipulator as well as lifting to the surface a load of up to . The construction of underwater vessels constitutes 70 % of the total production volume of the shipyard . Out of all submarines built in the world , 15 % by tonnage are produced at the Admiralty Shipyards . Admiralty Shipyards in St . Petersburg will build six Kilo class diesel - electric submarines for delivery to Vietnam , the Russian business daily Kommersant said in April 2009 . The paper quoted company general director Vladimir Aleksandrov as saying that Russia ' s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport would soon sign a contract with a foreign state , and that Admiralty Shipyards had been chosen to fulfill this contract . Sources in Rosoboronexport later confirmed that Russia and Vietnam had been negotiating a $ 1 . 8 billion deal on the delivery of six Kilo - class submarines to the Vietnamese navy for about a year . Admiralty Shipyards is currently building two Kilo class submarines for Algeria to be delivered in 2009 and 2010 . Oil tankers . In the 1990s , Admiralty Shipyard became a joint stock company and in 1997 it started construction of ice class tankers of , designed for simultaneous transportation of up to four different cargo grades . These tankers have been equipped with the latest automated ships systems of world class . The tanker has double hull and is able to run in solid - ice up to a half - meter thick at a speed of 1½ – 2 knots . During recent years the shipyard constructed five ships for Russia ' s largest oil company ( Lukoil ) — the " Astrakhan " , " Magas " , " Kaliningrad " , " Saratov " , " Usinsk " . All of which are working on the Northern Sea Route . Present day . Military shipbuilding consists of orders from the Russian Ministry of Defense and export orders for foreign governments . The shipyard ' s military orders are primarily submarines , but also include non - military repair , modernization and building of other underwater technical innovations for oceanic development . Currently the shipyard employs about 10 , 000 people under the general director Vladimir L . Aleksandrov . Extension on Kotlin Island . New shipyards especially dedicated to the building of two " Mistral " class ships for the Russian navy will be set up on Kotlin Island , as part of a deal signed in December between France and Russia . They will be part of the Admiralty Shipyards company and could start building Mistral ships after 2014 . They will be used later to construct commercial bulk ships and large combat ships .