Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard lays down Pioner-M, research ship of Project 25700

On 21 May 2019, Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (SNS, a company of United Shipbuilding Corporation) laid down a research ship of Project 25700, Pioner-M. According to the shipyard, the construction will be carried out by three companies.

Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard will make the hull off composite materials. The superstructure will be built together with the specialists of Crimea based company Sudokompozit. Sevastopol Marine Plant (Sevmorzavod shipyard, branch of Shiprepairing Center Zvyozdochka of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) will perform works on final assembling and outfitting.

The Pioner-M, a small-size research ship of catamaran type, is to perform a wide range of comprehensive research works in coastal waters of the Black Sea including oceanographic, hydrobiological, hydrochemical, geomorphological, hydroacoustic and diving works. 

With its modular system of alternative container-type laboratories, the ship will be able to conduct a wide array of missions. 

RV Pioner-M will be the first ship in Russia to practice unmanned navigation. The ship design foresees all-year-round operation in the Black Sea and Azov Sea waters standing off a place of shelter within 20 nautical miles.

The Pioner-M design was developed by the Sevastopol State University at the Innovative Shipbuilding and Shelf Development Technologies department established by CDB Korall. The project applying innovative methods of designing based on ship lifecycle was developed with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

A new approach to designing was applied under the project on construction of RV Pioner-M by the NTI Competence Center of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University “New Production Technologies”. A method of creating a digital twin of the ship hull lets reduce the time of designing and perform monitoring of the hull during the ship operation.

Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard is a part of the design consortium of NTI Center based on the Polytechnic University which comprises science, education and id leaders focused on the development of and transfer of technologies developed by the Center. Among them are digital designing and modelling, new materials (composite materials, nanomaterials, meta-materials, metal powder for additive manufacturing), additive technologies, Smart-Manufacturing and hybrid manufacturing technologies.

RV Pioner-M will have the following characteristics: length – 25.7 m, breadth - 9 m, depth — 3.1 m, draft – 1.5 m, speed – 10 knots, cruising range – 500 miles, displacement – 82 t, endurance – 6 days, seaworthiness – 3.5 points.