Loading of LASH carrier and container ship Sevmorput commenced at Murmansk Commercial Seaport (photo)
Murmansk Commercial seaport PJSC (PAO MMTP) says it has commenced loading of nuclear-powered LASH ship Sevmorput (named after the Northern Sea Route) for the first time after a decade-long period. The Sevmorput is getting ready for her Arctic voyage.
LASH carrier and container ship Sevmorput is the only nuclear powered transport vessel in Russia. She was built at “Zaliv” Shipyard in Kerch in 1988. In 1992-2006 the ship was deployed for transportation of containerized and general cargo to port Dudinka, along the Northern Sea Route, in severe ice and weather conditions.
Over the entire period of her operation the Sevmorput covered 302,000 miles and carried over 1.5 mln t of cargo.
The ship used to be loaded at Berth No 15 of Murmansk Commercial seaport. Over the mentioned period the Sevmorput moored 88 times there.
With her dimensions (length - 260 m, width – 32 m, draught – over 11 m) the ship can be handled only at the deepwater berth of PAO MMTP offering all the facilities required for cargo accumulation, storage and handling. With its specialized equipment the berth is also used for handling cargoes intended for construction of the Arctic port Sabetta and LNG plant under Yamal LNG Project.
From the beginning of 2016 PAO MMTP handed eight ships at Berth No 15. They delivered some 100,000 t of reinforced concrete structures, construction materials and equipment to the Yamal Peninsula. In 2015, Murmansk Commercial seaport shipped 123,000 t of general cargo and over 270,000 t of crushed aggregate to port Sabetta.
“It is the beginning of the new phase in the life of unique nuclear-powered LASH ship Sevmorput. In view of the special role of the Arctic projects and the development of a regular shipping along the Northern Sea Route lanes, deployment of the nuclear-powered LASH ship for delivery of freight to remote, difficult to access but strategically important and rich in resources areas, provides new opportunities for intense economic and business activities in the region”, the statement says.
PAO MMTP has already accepted some 4,500 t of different cargoes intended for transportation by the Sevmorput. Such cargoes are delivered to the port by road and rail transport. The ship will totally carry about 5,000 t of cargo including construction materials, cables, containers, reinforced concrete structures and sawn wood products. Those cargoes are intended for construction of infrastructure facilities on the Kotelny island (New Siberian Islands).
The statement says apart from special equipment the loading operation will require specific experience of the workforce involved and thorough coordination of the activities of all the parties involved in the logistic chain including FSUE Atomflot, PAO Sovfracht and PAO MMTP.
Murmansk Commercial Seaport PJSC (PAO MMTP) was founded in 1994. MMTP operates 17 berths of total length of about 3 km. The waters depths allow the port to accommodate vessels with draft of 15.5 m and length of more than 265 m.