On October 24, 2014, Shipyard “Oka” (Navashino, Nizhny Novgorod) launched the third ship of mixed sea-and-river navigation, project RST54, built for BF Tanker (Saint-Petersburg). According to the press center of Marine Engineering Bureau, the vessel (building No 5403) has been named Balt FLot 3.
According to the results of the inclining experiment, deadweight of the lead vessel is 5,745 t at draught 3.60 m (river), which is a record for Volga-Don Max class vessels.
The new concept features increased carrying capacity thanks to maximum length and breadth of vessels and extremely full lines not applied before.
Combined carriers of project RST54 ensure loading for both directions (oil cargo – one way and dry cargo – the other way). Besides, the load on highways can be decreased with the transportation of passenger cars which have traditionally been delivered from Saint-Petersburg to the Central Russia by car carrying trucks. Also, they can carry containers weighing more than allowed for highway transportation.
RST54 project vessels of Volga-Don Max class meet the dimensions of the Volga-Don Ship Canal and Volga-Baltic Waterway. LOA - 140.85 m, beam - 16.6 m, depth - 6 m. Class of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping - M-ПР2,5 (ice30) А. Crew - 12 persons (14 places + pilot). Sea endurance - 20 days.
The ship design was developed by Marine Engineering Bureau.
The lead vessel of the series (building No 5401) was laid down on December 16, 2013, the second vessel (building No 5402) – on January 24, 2014, the third vessel (building No 5403) – on March 5, 2014.
Okskaya Sudoverf (Shipyard “Oka”) based in Navashino of Nizhny Novgorod region was founded in 1907. The modern Okskaya Shipyard JSC was established through privatization of the state enterprise Navashino Shipyard “Oka”. The firm specializes in building multipurpose river and sea going vessels. The company’s major shareholder is Universal Cargo Logistics Holding B.V. (UCL Holding).
UCL Holding is an international transportation group consolidating a number of Russian shipping, stevedoring, shipbuilding, railway and logistic companies.