Russian Ministry of Defense and Admiralty Shipyard signed an agreement for the completion of the salvage vessel Igor Belousov, the shipbuilding company said. The lead ship of project 21300 is scheduled for delivery to the Ministry of Defense in 2014.
The Project 21300 was designed by Marine Design Bureau ‘Almaz’. The hull is made of high-strength alloy, developed at the Central Scientific-Research Institute of Structural Materials "Prometheus". The vessel was laid down in 2005, but the construction was frozen due to funding problems.
The 5,000dwt ship has max speed 15 knots. The vessel will participate in salvage operations to rescue the crews of submarines in distress, dead in the water or lying on the seabed. Besides, the Igor Belousov will be equipped with a manned deep submergence vehicle and a Remotely Operated Vehicle to conduct search and survey of sunk ships.
OJSC Admiralty Shipyard (Admiralteysky Verfy) is the oldest Russian shipbuilder, founded back in 1704. The company is part of Western Center of Shipbuilding controlled by United Shipbuilding Corporation. JSC Admiralty Shipyards specializes in design, construction and upgrade of civil vessels and warships for the Russian Navy. To date, the Company has built more than 2,500 combat surface ships, submarines, survey vessels, fishing boats. The number includes 300 submarines (41 nuclear-powered subs) and 68 deep submergence vehicles and ROVs.