Volga-Balt Transportation Holding (VBTH) has commissioned on April 10, 2012 the 5039DWT M/V Nephrite, the sixth vessel of a series of Project DCV36 ten newbuilds ordered by VBTH with China’s Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding Co., the project designer Marine Engineering Bureau said.
The Customer – VBTH is a majority owned division of Universal Cargo Logistics Holding, consolidating several Russian shipping (North-Western Shipping Company, Volga Shipping, VF Tanker, etc.), stevedoring and shipbuilding assets (Okskaya Shipyard, BorRemFlot, etc.).
The DCV36 project vessels are designed for transportation of seaborne general and bulk cargo, including 20’ and 40’ containers with height of up to 9.5 foot (including reefer containers), metal, grain, timber, coal, bulk and heavy-lift cargo, dangerous goods of 1.4S, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8, 9, and Appendix "B" the International Code of Safety for High Speed Craft. The vessel project was designed to the class of Russian Maritime Register of Shipping KM AUT1 Ice 3. The DCV36 project bulker has unlimited navigation area.
The DCV36 bulker is a modern single-deck, single-hold and single-screw motor ship of unrestricted navigation area (versus the same class vessels of projects RSD44 RSD49), which has forecastle and poop, aft based deckhouse and engine room, double bottom and double sides in cargo holds area, removable grain bulkheads with bulb fore and transom aft ends, with Cargotec’s side-rolling hatch covers, with bow thruster.
Ship’s general characteristic:
LOA - 89.96 m;
Beam - 14.5 m;
Depth - 7.5 m;
LWL - 6.4 m, the draft DWT – 5026 t.
Cargo hold dimensions - 60 x 11.5 x 9.2 m, which allows placement of 3 tiers of 9.5-foot containers, and also provides for transportation of large-sized cargoes. Cargo holds capacity - 6230 cbm. Double bottom is designed for distributed load intensity of 14.0 t per sqm and for bucket grab usage.
The order for the M/V Nephrite was booked on April 9, 2008, steel-cutting ceremony was held on September 14, 2009, keel-laying – on May 4, 2010, launching and naming ceremony - on August 2, 2011.
The DCV36 project lead ship "Amethyst" was laid down at the Chinese shipyard on November 16, 2009, launched on May 17, 2010, commissioned onApril 22, 2011. The keel of the tenth vessel "Jasper" was laid on February 28, 2011.