OJSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (part of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corp.) signed a contract with LLC P.TransCo for the construction of six push tugs of Project 81, the shpbuilder’s press release said. The towboats delivery is scheduled for April-May 2014.
The Project 81 push tug’s displacement is 365 tons, LOA - 25 m, breadth - 10 m. The vessel is designed to perform pushing or emergency towing of barges (project 82) of total displacement of about 5,200 tonnes at a speed of 10 knots.
The ship has the on-board coupling ARTICOUPLER KVC3545 manufactured by Taisei Engineering Consultant Inc. The pushers feature high maneuverability and controllability thanks to twin controllable-pitch screws and twin rudders.
An earlier report said that Nizhny Novgorod-based Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard on February 27, 2013 secured contracts for the construction of ten self-propelled dry cargo barges for transportation of bulk cargoes. The barges contracts will be funded through lease financing scheme: the barges Customer is Gazprombank Leasing that will charter out the newbuilds to LLC P.TransKo. The push tugs for these barges will be built by Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard.
OJSC Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard was created in 1912 as Ust-Izhorsky Shipyard. The company specializes in building warships and civil vessels manufactured of nonmagnetic steel, aluminum and fiberglass: corvettes, mine sweepers, coastal patrol boats, workboats and passenger vessels.