Saint-Petersburg based Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard says it will launch mine countermeasures vessel Lev Chernavin of Project 12700 on 14 April 2023.
The minesweeper named after Rear Admiral Lev Chernavin was laid down in July 2020.
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 particulars of the vessel: displacement - 890 t, length – about 62 m, breadth – about 10 m, speed at full displacement – 16 knots, crew – 44.
Commander-in-Chief of RF Navy Navy Nikolai Yevmenov earlier said, the Pacific Fleet would soon be expanded with a series of six submarines of Project 636.3 being build by Admiralteiskie Verfi shipyard.
Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard JSC 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. For over a century of its existence the shipyard has more than 500 warships and vessels for the Russian Navy and foreign customers (13 countries worldwide) including over 200 minesweepers. 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. From 1937, the shipyard is actually a monopolist in construction of Russian mine countermeasure vessels.