A passenger ship for cruises on the Caspian Sea will be laid down at Astrakhan based Lotos Shipyard on August 15, 2016, the regional authorities said.
The Ministry of Industry, Transport and Natural Resources of Astrakhan region noted that the keel-laying is timed to the meeting of the State Council on the development of Russia's inland waterways in Volgograd. The contract for 141-m-long, 16,5-m-wide four-deck ship for 300 passengers is valued at some RUB 2.5 bn.
JSC Shipyard Lotos (a subsidiary of MNP-Onshore & Offshore Group) operates two shipyards in Astrakhan region and specialized in construction of modules of topsides for offshore platforms. The company repair ships hulls, hull systems, and machinery. Since 2012 the shipyard is managed by United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). The main shareholders are USC, Caspian Energy Group and the Government of the Astrakhan region.