A new research vessel is to be built by Admiralty Shipyards (St. Petersburg) by 2011 for Arctic and Antarctic research. The oldest shipyard has won a tender, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) reports according to Gudok.
The tender was initiated by the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. The government contract valued at over RUR 5 bln will be signed by Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg on December 1.
Commissioning of the vessel is scheduled for September 2011. According to Arkadi Soshnikov, AARI Chief Engineer, the vessel has been designed by the BALTSUDOPROEKT Central Design Bureau (branch of Krylov Shipbuilding Research Institute).
The vessel is to have the length of 133 m, breadth - 23 m, draft – 8.5 m, power - 16 MWt, cruising radius 15,000 miles, speed in open water - 16 knots. There will be two helicopter grounds.