Mine countermeasures vessel of Project 12700, Yakov Balyayev, completed its state trials
Mine countermeasures vessel of Project 12700, Yakov Balyayev, built by Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (a company of the United Shipbuilding Corporation), completed its state trials and returned to its base in Vladivostok, the shipyard says in a press release.
The test programme included a package of activities to confirm the ship’s major performance and speed characteristics, seaworthiness, and maneuvrability. The crew and the shipyard’s trial team checked functionality of all the systems, mechanisms and armament.
The flag raising ceremony will be held on January 26 and the ship will join RF Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
The Yakov Balyayev will be the forth serial ship of Project 12700 (Aleksandrit) delivered by Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard to RF Navy. Four more ships of this design are under construction at the shipyard.
This mine countermeasures vessel of Project 12700 (Aleksandrit) was designed by Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau (a company of United Shipbuilding Corporation) for RF Navy. The ship of the new generation features the most advanced technology and naval architecture and marine engineering, the world's largest monolithic hull of fiber-glass plastic made by the vacuum infusion method. Monolithic hulls fabricated from glass-reinforced plastic feature higher strength and survivability compared to steel hulls. They also have lower mass and do not suffer from corrosion. With a proper service, their life cycle is unlimited. The ship’s anti-mine gear includes an unmanned boat to search and find mines without a single risk to people’s life.
Key characteristics: displacement - 890 t, length – about 62 m, breadth – about 10 m, speed at full displacement – 16 knots, crew – 44.
Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard JSC, a part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, was set up in 1912. The shipyard has built over 600 warships and vessels for the Russian Navy and foreign customers (13 countries worldwide). Currently, the shipyard builds missile boats, trawlers, passenger and work vessels for various purposes and is about to start the large-scale construction of mine warships of the new generation for the Russian Navy and foreign countries. Today, the shipyard is the leader of composite shipbuilding in Russia and the only plant in the country to build warships and civil vessels of 4 types of materials: composite materials, shipbuilding steel, nonmagnetic steel, aluminum and fiberglass. The shipyard has mastered the technology of building hulls of composite materials through vacuum infusion method.
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.