Yaroslavsky Shipyard on 26 June 2014 held a launching ceremony for the first vessel in a series of three river bunker tankers of RT18 design, the ship designer Marine Engineering Bureau said Friday.
The series lead ship (Hull No 10901) has river ice class notation Ice 30.
The three fuel replenishment tankers were ordered by Inland Waterways Authority Rechvodput of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot), the Ministry of Transport. The first serial vessel will be handed over to the Kama Inland Waterways & Shipping Basin Authority (Kamvodput).
The bunker tanker is designed to receive oil products from the shore facilities or another vessel, for transportation, offloading to the shore or another ship petroleum products with a flashpoint above 60°C. The tanker can transport diesel fuel, lube oil of viscosity of 50 Cst at 50°C.
Ship's navigation area - inland waterways of Russia (O 2.0 notation).
General characteristics: LOA - about 61,29 m; LBB - 59.60 m; breadth overall - about 10.42 m; DWL breadth - 10.00 m; depth - 2.60 m; LWL draft - about 2.0 m; endurance - 15 days; DWT - 517 tonnes; operational speed - 9 kn; crew - 7; RRR class notation: O 2.0 (Ice 30) A.
Keel laying of the first RT18 design ship (Hull No 10901) was held on 13 March 2013.
Noteworthy, this is the first river-going bunker tanker ever built at Russian shipyards for the past twenty years. This class vessels that are currently in operation are 40-year old on average and have long exceeded their service life.
OJSC Yaroslavsky Shipbuilding Plant (Yaroslavsky Shipyard, the Management Company CJSC «VP FINSUDPROM») is located in the central part of Russia on the Volga River. The shipyard was founded in 1920 and was reincorporated in 1993. The company specializes in the construction of commercial vessels and warships. Yaroslavsky Shipyard is a major shipbuilding contractor for Ministry of Defense, the supplier of off-shore seagoing tugs for Russian law enforcement agencies. The enterprise has built 76 seagoing tugs of projects 745 and 1454 and their modifications.
In December 2013 Yaroslavsky Shipyard handed over to the Russian Navy a 745-design sea-going tugboat "Victor Konetsky," that has entered service with the Baltic Fleet forces. There are several newbuilds under construction at the shipyard: a tugboat of project 745 and three 21820 design landing cutters (MoD), three 12260 design Fast Patrol Cutters (Russia's FSB), six SV2407 buoy tenders and three RT18 bunker tankers for Rosmorrechflot.