On March 19, 2016, Kaliningrad-based Baltic Shipbuilding Plant “Yantar” (Yantar Shipyard, United Shipbuilding Corporation) laid the keel of oceanographic research ship of Project 02670, the Yevgeny Gorigledzhan. As USC Department for Information Policy and Corporate Communications told IAA PortNews, the ship will be delivered to the customer, Deepwater Research Department of RF Defence Ministry in 2017.
The ship will be built through repair and re-equipment of a rescue tugboat MB-305 (Szczecin, 1983). The contract between Yantar Shipyard and RF Ministry of Defence was signed in mid-February 2016.
Oceanographic research ship of Project 02670 was designed by Almaz design bureau. Displacement – 4,000 t, length- 81 m, breadth – 16 m, endurance – 30 days, crew – 32 and 25 of expedition participants.
Kaliningrad-based Baltic Shipbuilding Plant “Yantar” (Yantar Shipyard) was founded on July 8,1945 on the basis of a Koenigsberg unit of German’s Schichau Werft. Yantar Shipyard specializes in building and repair of warships and civil boats. Throughout the years the Shipyard has built 160 warships and more than 500 merchant vessels. The Russian Government holds majority stake in the shipbuilding firm through Western Center of Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation.
United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC OJSC) is the largest shipbuilding company in Russia. It was set up in 2007 with 100% federal ownership. The holding comprises 60 companies and organizations (major shipbuilding and shiprepairing companies as well as leading design bureaus). Currently, USC consolidates about 80% of the domestic shipbuilding complex. The Russian market is the main focus of the state corporation though it also exports its products to 20 countries worldwide.