HIGH PAYLOADS WITH RUSSIAN SEA/RIVER CLASS

Each of the new flotilla of 141m singledeckers built by the Krasnoye Sormovo yard employs German propulsors and provides a high degree of freight carrying flexibility in two holds, with scope for a sea-going load intake close to 8,000t. The characteristically robust design, developed by Marine Engineering Bureau (MEB) of St Petersburg as the RSD59 type, is maximised for navigation of the canal connecting two key Russian arteries, the Volga and Don rivers.

The Pola Miropia was commissioned in October as the last of a series of 11 vessels contracted from Krasnoye Sormovo to the account of the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK) for operation by the Pola Group.

Since 2017, the yard has delivered a total of 20 ships of the RSD59 class, otherwise known as the Volgo-Don Max type, on GTLK lease to Russian operators, the previous series numbering five and four vessels, respectively. Krasnoye Sormovo has booked nine further such newbuilds, while 20 examples of the design have so far been ordered elsewhere, at the Okskaya and Nevsky yards.

The propulsion system specified for the latest programme of 11 ships is based on twin diesel engines driving two main azimuthing thrusters of the Schottel SRP 340FP type. Each rudderpropeller has an input power of 1,200kW, such that the installation offers a free sailing speed of 10.5 knots.

The cargo section gives an underdeck volume of 11,200m3, and the full hull form achieves a block coefficient that ensures the most practical combination of load capacity, speed and propulsive power requirement. Schottel’s delivery also includes a bow tunnel thruster, to supply a 230kW rotational force for manoeuvring at river and coastal berths. The auxiliary outfit comprises two 332kW diesel generators plus a 90kW emergency set.

The multipurpose, ice-strengthened RSD59 provides a maximum sea-going deadweight of about 8,000t at 4.7m draught and some 7,400t when drawing 4.5m, while still offering 5,128dwt at the river draught of 3.6m, which is the maximum for the Volga-Don Canal with its multiple locks.

The design is suited to bulk commodities, packaged and round timber, steel products and scrap metal, heavy and/or outsized individual items of freight, and IMDG/IMSBC-categorised hazardous goods. In addition, there are 250 TEU slots for containers in the holds and on the weatherdeck. Indicative of the RSD59’s configuration and versatility, vessels of the type have been used to transport wind turbine elements from points on the Russian inland river system to Denmark.

The design’s trading range encompasses the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, Mediterranean, the Baltic, the White Sea and the North Sea.

Located on the Volga near Nizhny Novgorod, the Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard is part of state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation and has a long track record in the construction of submarines as well as commercial cargo vessels.

GTLK is Russia’s largest player in the lease market, serving all modes of transport and investing in the development of the country’s transport infrastructure.