OREANDA-NEWS. May 24, 2012. Keel-laying ceremony was held at Nevsky Shipyard for the sixth multipurpose dry cargo vessel of RSD49 project. The 7150dwt bulker was ordered by North-Western Shipping Company, the Marine Engineering Bureau said.

Nevsky Shipyard is currently building five vessels of a portfolio of ten newbuilds ordered by North-Western Shipping. The contract for the series lead ship (build number 401) is being executed by Nevsky Shipyard in conjunction with Onega Shipyard. The ship was laid down on December 14, 2010 at Nevsky Shipyard, outfitted at Petrozavodsk-based Onega dock and launched on May 20, 2012.

The Volga-Don Max vessels of mixed river-sea sailing are designed for transportation of general and bulk cargoes, including steel, grain, timber, coal, oversized and heavy-lift and dangerous cargoes of classes 1.4S, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.1, 8, 9 by IC IMDG and Annex B of the BC Code in the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Baltic, White and North seas, including sailings around Europe and in the Irish Sea during winter season.

The series vessel (in contrast to other Volga-Don max class ships created by Marine Engineering Bureau) features a 52-m-long middle cargo hold for shipping oversized project cargo on direct Europe - Caspian Sea lane. This should make the vessel operation cost-effective.

The project was designed to CM Ice2 R2 AUT1-C of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and meets all the requirements of international conventions, effective as of the vessel’s keel-laying.

Currently, the RSD49 vessels (like its prototype RSD19) are by far the largest of dry cargo ships that satisfy the dimensions of Volga-Don Shipping Canal.

Ship’s main characteristics: sea / river draft – 4.70m / 3.60m, sea / river DWT – 7150t / 4520t; length overall - 139.95 m, breadth overall - 16.70 m, depth - 6.00 m; cargo holds capacity - 10,920 cbm.

Nevsky Shipyard LLC, a subsidiary of JSC North-Western Shipping Company (part of UCL Holding), is located 40 km from Saint-Petersburg in Shlisselburg on the left bank of the Neva River. The company has been engaged in shipbuilding since 1952. Nevsky Shipyard builds sea-going and river vessels of various types and purposes and provides all kinds of ship repair. Nevsky Shipyard’s slipway allows launching and lifting 140-m-long vessels with dock weight of up to 2500 tons.