The newbuilding contract was awarded by Russian Ministry of Defense
Astrakhan SRZ, the Astrakhan region based ship repair facility of Zvezdochka Ship Repair Centre (Zvezdochka Shipyard, part of United Shipbuilding Corporation) held a launching / naming ceremony for Project 22870 rescue tugboat Mikhail Chekov. The emergency tow vessel is being built for the Russian Ministry of Defense, the USC press office said.
The tugboat was designed to provide emergency towing to ships in distress and rescue personnel, for fire fighting on ships and coastal facilities. It has the capabilities to keep ships in distress afloat and perform diving operations at depths of 60 meters. The Mikhail Chekov is also intended for oil recovery operations in case of oil spills at the sea, to conduct search and survey work.
The newbuild was named in honor of the Black Sea Fleet officer Mikhail Chekov, commander of the salvage operation teams that ensured the recovery of ships sunk by the enemy in the Black Sea port harbours during the Great Patriotic War.
The keel-laying ceremony for Mikhail Chekov was held in March 2021. This is the seventh tugboat of the Project 22870 series, built at Astrakhan ship repair yard. The SB-45 class leader was commissioned into service with the Navy’s Caspian Flotilla fleet in 2014.
The Project 22870 tugboat was developed by Nizhny Novgorod based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Vympel Design Bureau.
Key particulars: LOA: 57 m: Breadth: 14 m; Maximum displacement: 1605 tonnes; Speed: 14 knots.