Sparta III, the largest vessel in the of Oboronlogistics fleet, carried out the transportation of a large batch of cargo from the port of Murmansk to the island of Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Oboronlogistics says in a press release.
The transit time from the port of loading to the place of unloading took 4 days. Part of the way the ship passed independently, from the edge of the ice to the place of installation in the ice solder - under the wiring of the diesel-electric icebreaker Vladivostok FSUE Rosmorport.
Cargo of various categories with a total weight of more than 7.5 thousand tons (including airfield slabs, inert building materials in big bags, modular blocks, containers with food and building materials) was delivered in the interests of the Military Construction Complex of the Russian Defense Ministry, which is engaged in the construction of facilities in northern latitudes as part of the Arctic development program. The materials are intended for the construction of an all-season runway, which will allow the northernmost airfield in Russia to receive all types of aircraft.
Unloading operations in the delivery area were carried out around the clock, taking into account the severe weather conditions of the region, on a pre-equipped ice solder with the use of ship cranes. Unloading was carried out by the crew in shifts for 7 days. In the near future, two more consecutive trips of the Sparta III from the port of Murmansk to the Land of Alexandra are planned.
Universal cargo ship Sparta III class RO-RO/LO-LO (horizontal and vertical loading), designed for the transportation of various classes of cargo (including oversized), equipment and containers. The vessel is equipped with two cranes with a lifting capacity of 350 tons each. The ship's hull is covered with a special ice-resistant coating. In 2020, the ship passed an inspection for compliance with the Polar Code, which allows it to operate in polar waters. In March 2021 The ship's radio equipment has been upgraded: the GMDSS communication equipment of class A4 has been installed, which is designed for operation in the circumpolar regions above 80° latitude.