Creation of infrastructural conditions for the further development of the Northern Sea Route and coastal territories has been confirmed by the plan until 2035. Russian shipyards will construct new hydrographic vessels and modernize existing ones to provide the safety of navigation.
New hydrographs
It is planned to build 2 hydrographic vessels of the E35.G project of the Ice 3 class with a deadline for implementation - December 2021. The responsible executor is the Directorate of the State Customer of Sea Transport Development Programs.
The hydrographic boats of the E35.G project have a length of 33.5 m, a width of 8.0 m, a height midships of 4.0 m, a draft of 1.8 m, and a draught of about 260 tons. The vessels are designed to provide hydrographic research and work in sea, coastal areas in accordance with the class of the vessel, in river mouths, including in the Arctic basin of the Russian Federation during summer-autumn navigation.
Now two vessels of this project "Yuri Babaev" and "Yuri Osokin" are under construction at the Balakovo shipyard. The launch of the first boat took place at the enterprise on June 25, 2021, the launch of the second one occurred on July 30, 2021. It is planned that these particular vessels will operate in the Gulf of Ob of the Kara Sea, ensuring the export of liquefied gas and oil from the port of Sabetta.
Besides, it is planned to build 3 hydrographic vessels of the HSV05.02 project of the ice class Arc 7 with the lead vessel implementation date - December 2023. The fleet will be built as a part of the federal project "Development of the Northern Sea Route".
Hydrographic pilotage vessel of HSV05.1 project ice class Arc7 is intended for complex hydrographic research and work, maintenance of aids to navigation (AtoN), delivery of specialists, supplies and equipment to onshore facilities of AtoN and radio-technical aids to navigation, as well as for other works as part hydrographic support of merchant shipping in the water area of the NSR.
According to the project, the hydrographic vessel has a capacity of 8 MW, it is capable of breaking ice up to 1.5-1.7 m thick. The new hydrograph will allow the "Hydrographic Enterprise" to expand the scope of hydrographic work - due to the possibility of increasing the navigation period, as well as explore high-latitude routes necessary for the development of year-round shipping along the Northern Sea Route.
In 2021, Rosatom announced a tender for the construction of the lead hydrographic vessel of the HSV05.1 project. The contract value will amount to over 7 billion rubles. The customer-developer of the construction is FSUE Hydrographic
Enterprise (part of Rosatom). Today the competition is at the stage of choosing a shipyard that will build the ship.
New chief pilots
As part of the activities aimed at the development of navigation and hydrographic support of navigation in the Northern Sea Route water area, it is planned to build 2 chief pilots of the BLV03 project of ice class Ice 3 with a deadline of December 2021.
They have already been floated out. Zelenodolsk shipyard named after Gorky held a solemn ceremony of launching simultaneously two chief pilots of the BLV03 project - "Alexander Parfenov" and "Vsevolod Peresypkin". The event took place on August 23, 2021.
Such chief pilots have a length of 35 m, a width of 10.6 m, a draft of 2.5 m. the composition of the hydrographic support of merchant shipping in the Northern Sea Route water area.
Modernization
In addition to the construction of a new fleet, it is planned to renew the existing hydrographic one. The program began with the modernization of the research vessel Grigory Mikheev. At the end of May 2021, Rosatom invited tenders for work to be carried out no later than May 11, 2022. The cost of the state contract for the renovation of the vessel is estimated at 437.830 million rubles.
Then the "Petr Kottsov" and "Aleksey Maryshev" ships will undergo modernization. It is planned that the second research ship will undergo renewal in the period from 2022 to 2023, and the third - in the period from 2023 to 2024.