Saint-Petersburg, Russia based Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard (a company of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) has held the keel-laying ceremony for two passenger catamarans of Project 04580, Kotlin named Fort Kronshlot and Fort Peter I, IAA PortNews correspondent reports from the ceremony.
6 catamarans will be built under the contract signed on 20 December 2021 with Neva Travel LLC as the customer.
When speaking at the ceremony, Maksim Sokolov, Vice-Governor of Saint-Petersburg, said: “Tourism is ‘oil and gas’ for Saint-Petersburg”.
The contract was signed under the programme of State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK JSC) on water transport leasing development which implies state co-financing. The programme funded by the budget and off-budget sources is aimed at replacement of obsolete passenger fleet with vessels of domestic origin and at development of domestic production.
The new ships will cater for the actively developing Museum and Historical Park “Land of Forts”. They will also assist in a socially important activity, namely transportation of passengers between Saint-Petersburg and Kronshtadt as well as linking the city center with all essential locations in the Neva Bay (Strelna, Peterhoff, Marine Façade, Lomonosov, Lakhta, Gorskaya).
The catamaran design was developed by Saint-Petersburg based design bureau Forss Technologies with respect of specific operation of ships in the water area of Saint-Petersburg and the Gulf of Finland.
Catamarans built by Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard will be able to pass under the bridges of Saint-Petersburg. They will feature high speed and seaworthiness. Up to 200 passengers including individuals with disabilities will be accommodated in comfortable saloon (150 people) and open upper deck (50 people). Maximum speed – about 30 knots. The construction is supervised by Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.
The contract foresees the delivery of the first two ships in May 2023 with the next two units to be delivered in the navigation season of 2024, the third pair – in May 2025.
Particulars of Project 04580 Kotlin catamaran: LOA – 32 m; BOA – 8.7 m; depth – 1.4 m; draft – 1.32 m; engines - 2х882 kW; seakeeping capability – up to 4 points; speed max – about 30 knots. Passenger capacity – up to 200 people (including individuals with disabilities), crew – 3; hull and superstructure – aluminum-magnesium alloy.
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.
Photos by IAA PortNews
