The given article analyzes the question connected with the quality of work of the German shipbuilding company “Shichau” while executing the Russian orders at the turn of XIX-XXth centuries. The German enterprise specialized in the construction of torpedo boats and cruisers and had a high authority as the responsible and skilled producer of naval production both in its homeland and abroad, including Russia. The studying of archival materials showed that “Shichau” being positively estimated, nevertheless it had some obvious shortcomings. As for the most serious ones, they were connected first of all with the torpedo boat “Renny” during its transition after the construction in the port of registry Sevastopol in summer 1886. Torpedo cruisers “Voevoda” and “Posadsky”, created by the German enterprise in 1892, “were structurally weak”, that was especially and considerably shown in storm weather. The execution of the order of 1912 in general received a scandal story. On the basis of the studied material we can conclude that some problems of quality in work of the company were explained by technical reasons, while realizing the project of 1912 some political factors added.