Dry cargo carrier Neva-Leader 7 (project RSD49) put into service by North-Western Shipping Company (photo)
On December 23, 2013, North-Western Shipping Company OJSC put into service the seventh multipurpose dry cargo vessel of project RSD49, Neva-Leader 7 (construction number 407), built by Nevsky Shipyard, says press center of Marine Engineering Bureau which designed the series.
The Volga-Don Max vessels of mixed river-sea sailing are designed for transportation of general and bulk cargoes, including steel, grain, timber, coal, oversized and heavy-lift and dangerous cargoes of classes 1.4S, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8, 9 by IC IMDG and Annex B of the BC Code in the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic, White and North seas, including sailings around Europe and in the Irish Sea during winter season.
The series vessel (in contrast to other Volga-Don max class ships created by Marine Engineering Bureau) features a 52-m-long middle cargo hold for shipping oversized project cargo on direct Europe-Caspian Sea line. This should make the vessel operation cost-effective.
The project was designed to CM Ice2 R2 AUT1-C of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and meets all the requirements of international conventions.
Currently, the RSD49 project vessels (like predecessors of Project RSD19) are by far the largest dry cargo ships that satisfy the dimensions of Volga-Don Shipping Canal.
Ship’s general characteristics: length overall - 139.95 m, breadth overall - 16.70 m, sea / river draft – 4.7m / 3.6m, sea / river DWT – 7150t / 4520t; m; cargo holds capacity - 10,920 cbm, operational speed – 11.5 knots.
The lead vessel of project RSD49, Neva-Leader 1, was laid down on December 14, 2010, floated out on May 20, 2012 and put into service on November 26, 2012.
The seventh vessel of the project, Neva-Leader 7, was laid down on August 23, 2012, floated out on October 18, 2013, and put into service on March 10, 2013.
Dry cargo carrier Neva-Leader 7 was floated out on October 18, 2013 at Nevsky Shipyard LLC.
Nevsky Shipyard LLC - one of the oldest enterprises of water transport in the northwest of Russia, is situated 40 km away from Saint Petersburg, in Shliesselburg. It started shipbuilding in 1952. Nevsky Shipyard builds sea-going and river vessels of various types and purposes and provides all kinds of ship repair. The Shipyard’s slipway allows launching and lifting for repair of 140-m-long vessels with dock weight of up to 3,000 tonnes.
North-Western Shipping Company is the largest carrier in Russia’s water transport system, specializing in shipping import / export general cargo, bulk and loose dry cargo, tugging of oversized cargo and vessels. The company’s fleet comprises about 105 cargo ships of total DWT 350,000 tonnes, including 84 mixed-sailing "river-sea” vessels, 6 barges, 7 tugs and 3 auxiliary ships. The NWS Company transports 6 million tonnes of different cargo a year. The Company is a member of VBTH, a shipping division of UCL Holding (majority owner of VBTH), consolidating also a number of Russian rail, stevedoring and logistics assets. The division also includes Volga and Western Company, several cruise and shipbuilding companies.