September 6 2022

A state flag raising ceremony was held on the new railway-car ferry ‘Alexander Deev’, built at the “Amur Shipbuilding Plant” (AZS; part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, USC), in which Russian President Vladimir Putin took part via video link, the USC Telegram channel reports. The event took place in Vladivostok as part of the Eastern Economic Forum.

The CNF11CPD project ‘Alexander Deev’ ferry will operate on the Vanino – Kholmsk line connecting Sakhalin Island with the continent. The ship will be able to carry 32 railway cars, 12 trucks and up to 200 passengers. ‘Alexander Deev’ has a reinforced ice class Arc5 hull capable of breaking ice up to 1.5 m thick and operating at temperatures down to -40 degrees Centigrade. The length of the ferry is 131 m, width 22 m, deadweight more than 4 thousand tons. 

According to Mr. Alexei Rakhmanov, USC head, the new ferry will make Sakhalin more accessible to local citizens. “Compared to its Soviet-built predecessors, it can carry twice as much cargo and almost three times as many passengers. This is the third vessel that USC is transferring for the region. Since last year, two new passenger / cargo ferries, ‘Admiral Nevelskoy’ and ‘Pavel Leonov’, have connected Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.

Cargo-passenger car-railway ferry ‘Alexander Deev’ is the lead in a series of two ships under construction at the Amur Shipyard. “Vympel Design Bureau” (part of USC) produced working design and technological documentation. The vessel was laid down in June 2017, launched in August 2019. From June to August 2022, factory sea trials completed, at which the ferry reached a speed of 18.2 knots. Increased ice penetration ensures the ability of the ferry to maintain a speed of at least 3 knots in even solid ice 1 m thick and 6-8 knots in ice up to 0.8 m thick. Currently, AZS is completing work on its sistership ‘Vasily Oshchepkov’.

Recall that ASZ received an order for the construction of two car-railway ferries in 2016. More than 5.5 billion rubles were allocated for the construction of ferries. The new vessels will ensure uninterrupted transport links with Sakhalin, regardless of weather conditions.

The Amur Shipbuilding Plant is one of the largest shipbuilding enterprises in the Far Eastern region of Russia. The production facilities and technical equipment of the facility are adapted for the construction of ships and vessels with a launch weight of up to 10 thousand tons, a length of up to 150 m and a width of up to 22 m.

Source: PortNews