Maximum deadweight of the ship is about 8,000 tonnes
United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has designed the first cargo ship that will have almost 100% of Russian components. USC says the Project is named Finwhale (Project 23640).
The ship of mixed sea/river class will be intended for transportation of general and dry bulk cargo (including grain and containers in holds and on hold covers) as well as dangerous goods.
The new design meets the latest national and international requirements on protection of environment and labour. The ship will of Volgo-Don Max class, the most popular one in Russia. While designing this ship, special attention was paid to optimization of the hull shape in order to enhance propulsion qualities of the ships and reduce its fuel consumption.
The local content of the ship will exceed that of vessels built earlier. The design foresees installation of propulsion/steering and thruster units manufactured by Head Company NPO Vint of Shiprepairing Center Zvyozdochka JSC (USC). Deck equipment is to be supplied by Proletarsky zavod PJSC (USC).
USC President Aleksey Rakhmanov commented on the plans of USC regarding the new product: “This market segment features two factors. First of all, ships of this class are in active operation and since many of them are over 40 years old, they are under gradual decommissioning. Secondly, parallel to scrapping of obsolete units, new ships of domestic and foreign designs are being built to meet the up-to-date requirements of ship owners. Some of them are under construction at USC shipyards. We have accumulated sufficient experience and we are ready to offer shipping companies a ship of mixed navigation that would feature efficient operation and attractive price. It should be noted that in view of our task to make a competitive proposal the ship will not cost more than its counterparts. Thus we expect the new cargo ship to enjoy a stable demand with respect of quality/price/time of construction”.
The project concept suggests maximum content of local materials and equipment. The following specialization centers established by USC will be involved: USC-Interior, USC-Propulsion and USC-Electrics. The construction can be arranged at several shipyards of USC and financed via Mashpromleasing (a captive company of USC). The design concept and technical project have been already submitted to Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. If all administrative issues are solved promptly, the potential customer can take the delivery of the new ship in 2021.
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 40 companies and organizations (major shipbuilding and shiprepairing companies as well as leading design bureaus). Currently, USC consolidates the bulk 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.