Armament support ship, Project 20180TV "Akademik Kovalev," built at Zvezdochka Ship Repair Centre (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation), on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2015 sailed out from the yard's dock and is now bound for her permanent deployment base, the shipbuilding company said in its blog.
State contract for the construction of ammunition ship "Akademik Kovalev" was signed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and JSC Shipbuilding Centre Zvezdochka Shipyard in September 2011. The ship keel was laid on December 20 the same year in shipyard's main shipbuilding hall.
The "Akademik Kovalev" was designed by the St. Petersburg based CMDB "Almaz" (Chief Designer Vitaly Shimalovich).
In July 2014 the ship was rolled out of the slip dock and launched for further outfitting. Between March and September 2015 the team of shipbuilding company, contractors and the crew completed dock-side trials.
On October 11, 2015 the Akademik Kovalev for the first time put out to sea. By early December, the crew and a commissioning team of Zvezdochka completed the program of shipbuilder's and state acceptance trials.
The ammunition ship of Project 20180TV has ice-class Arc-5 and is intended for loading / unloading / transport of arms. General characteristics: length overall - 107.6 m; breadth overall - 17.8 m; full load displacement - 6300 tonnes; crew - 60. The vessel has DP2 system and is equipped with a helipad for sea-based helicopters, a 90-tonne crane and a tilting device.
Severodvinsk, Russia based Shipbuilding Center ‘Zvezdochka’ is a diversified shipbuilding enterprise. It has two covered slipways with 7 shipbuilding yards, which are designed for overhaul and construction of vessels with a launching weight of up to 18,000 tonnes. The firm is majority owned by Northern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation.