The ship is to be delivered to the customer in Samara at the end of 2023
R-Flot Group has commenced the construction of a multifunctional suction dredger of the Group’s own design, Project 2040. According to the regional government, the ship will be built in Bogorodsk of the Nizhny Novgorod Region under the state programme “Transport System Development”.
Vladimir Gusev, Executive Director of R-FLot says it will be the lead ship in the new series. “This is the first turnkey project to be implemented at our production facilities. The ship’s main equipment of the ship, about 60%, will be of our own production: a gearbox, a pump, a cutter and, of course, a cabin and a hull. The rest will be supplied by the contractors from the regions of the Russian Federation, so this vessel is entirely import-independent. Our dredger is able to cope with the tasks which usually require several separate machines. It fully complies with the Russian classification requirements. We plan to send the ship to the customer in Samara at the end of this year,” said Vladimir Gusev.
The keel-laying ceremony was attended by Maksim Cherkasov, Minister of Industry, Trade and Entrepreneurship of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. He noted that R-FLot takes part in the federal investment project “Privileged Leasing of Civil Ships”. “The key shipyards in the region, such as Krasnoye Sormovo, Okskaya Sudoverf, Central Design Bureau named after. R.E. Alekseev are loaded with orders until 2025. New ships are under construction with the federal assistance. Several dry cargo ships, freight/passenger and high-speed vessels have already been launched. A total of 260 new vessels of various types will be covered by the programme including 27 units of the dredging fleet needed to recover the river routes. We expect that at least six of them will be built by R-Flot Group,” said the Minister.
The multifunctional suction dredger of Project 2040 is intended for dredging of soil of categories I–IV, maintenance and dredging works on river, canals, ponds, water reservoirs and lakes, clen-up of rooted vegetation, silt extraction, reconstruction and strengthening of banks, construction of bridges and other works. The scope and variety of works is determined by the sets of interchangeable equipment.
Established in 2006, R-FLOT Group offers services from design drafting to supply of ready products for sea and river fleet as well as for the defence industry. Key activities of R-FLOT are design engineering, manufacture of marine equipment and shipbuilding. The company numbers 200 employees.