On 22 January 2019, Yaroslavl Region based Vympel Shipbuilding Plant (Vympel Shipyard, part of the Kalashnikov Concern) laid the keel for the fifth small hydrographic vessel / buoy tender of Project 19910 for RF Navy, says the shipbuilding company.
By the Order of RF Navy Commander-in-Chief dated 10 May 2018 (No 404) the ship was named after soviet Rear Admiral Yakov Lapushkin, navigator and hydrographer.
The keel-laying ceremony was attended by Oleg Goncharov, Managing Director of Vympel shipyard; Captain I Rank Sergei Travin, head of the RF Defence Ministry’s Department for Navigation and Hydrography; other representatives of the Ministry and Leningrad Naval Base of the Baltic Fleet; grandchildren of Yakov Lapushkin and members of the Young Seafarers’ Club.
The small hydrographic vessel / buoy tender of Project 19910 designed by Nizhny Novgorod based Design Bureau “Vympel” is intended for operations in the coastal areas, including installation / removal of buoys / beacons of all types; maintenance (inspection, recharge and repair) of onshore and floating Aids to Navigation (A2N); some hydrographic surveys (within her capabilities); transport of various cargoes to supply shore based ATONs and hydrographic stations on unequipped coast.
Under the state contract, Vympel is to deliver the ship to the customer in 2022.
Vympel Shipyard specializes in the construction of medium- and light-tonnage seagoing and river vessels and boats both for military and civil sectors. Since its inception in 1930, the company was built more than 30,000 ships of various types. Over the past 40 years, the shipbuilding company has delivered more than 1,800 boats to 29 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. Currently Vympel Shipyard is building serial combat missile / patrol boats of new generation, high-speed SAR boats, firefighting ships, hydrographic survey and fishing vessels, tugs and other dedicated fleet, providing warranty / maintenance service for its products.