Final News Review. Published: 27 February 2015

The milestones of the route are the Black Sea ports in the hero cities of Novorossiysk, Kerch and Sevastopol where the sailers will anchor. The other seaports to be called are the marine capital of Russia St. Petersburg, the city of Murmansk and the City of Military Glory Arkhangelsk. The ship will participate in official ceremonies and open the board for visitors. The events planned which will take place at seaports and on board the barque are the meetings with veterans, visits of the crew members and trainees to memorials and scenes of the fighting for glory, and thematic photo exhibitions which will be held on board. The sailer will celebrate the Victory Day in the city of Sevastopol.

To pay tribute to the tradition, the Kruzenshtern sailer will participate in the largest international maritime festivals of sailing ships in Amsterdam, Rostock and Bremerhaven. The list of honorary missions of the barque scheduled for this year includes the participation in the cultural program of Expo-2015 World Exhibition in Genoa. The sailer is also invited to take part in the Year of Russia in Monaco.

Find out other news of this week in our final review.

Shipbuilding and Shiprepair

Zvyozdochka Shipyard Stops Repairing the Karp Nuclear Submarine
Zvyozdochka shipyard has stopped repairing the nuclear submarine Karp (B-239). This is suspected to be the result of the cuts in funding. The shipyard reported that all repair works on the Barrakuda lead submarine (Type 945) are currently ceased. The probable reason for ceasing the work can be the termination of funding for the submarine repair. 

Igor Belousov Rescue Ship to Undergo State Trials at the Baltic Sea in Summer
The state trials of the Igor Belousov rescue ship and commissioning of the GVK-450 deep diving system are scheduled for summer. The ship systems will be tested at the Baltic Sea. Before being handed over to the fleet in November, the ship is expected to undergo a number of trials under the trial program which requires approx. 15 voyages.

Russia Building a New Nuclear-Powered Destroyer ?
According to the Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Viktor Chirkov, the highest priority task when constructing a new generation destroyer is to equip it with a nuclear power unit. The Russian Navy currently has one nuclear powered surface ship – heavy nuclear missile cruiser Petr Veliky.

Kalashnikov Concern Decides to Engage in Shipbuilding
Kalashnikov Concern, a member of the Russian Technologies State Corporation, purchases the controlling interest (51%) of Euroyachting Rybinsk Shipyard Group. In accordance with the new development strategy till 2020 aimed at developing new segments of the specialized market, Kalashnikov is planning to engage in development and production of high-tech landing craft, search and rescue boats, pleasure boats, to introduce the promotion to new markets and expand the sales. 

Ivan Gren Landing Ship to Commence the Trials in April
The large landing ships of Type 11711 are designed for transporting landing troops, vehicles and equipment. The ships of this type are to replace the obsolete large landing ships (Types 775 and 1171). Each ship of this type is capable to carry and land up to 300 amphibious soldiers, 36 armored troop carriers or 13 tanks on an undefended shore. The ship is equipped with a troop lift helicopter Ka-29.

SNSZ Shipyard Launches the Fourth Tug of Type 81
On 25 February 2015 SNSZ shipyard launched the fourth of a series of six tugs constructed for P.Trans Co. The tug named VEGA incorporates Z-drive propulsion and has a full load displacement of 365 t, length of 25 m, beam of 10 m, and midship depth of 5.15 m. The tug is designed for pushing and short-term (emergency) towing of barges of Type 82 with gross tonnage of 4 300 t, full load displacement of approx. 5 200 t and speed of 10 kt. Crew: 7. Endurance: 7 days. The ship is built to the Russian River Registry class notation М3.0 (ice 10) A, which means "sea-going, capable of moving in ice 10 cm thick and at wave height 3.0 m".

St.Petersburg Shipyard to Lay Keel for New Generation Corvette
The keel-laying for a new generation corvette (Type 20386) equipped with removable combat modules for the Russian Navy is planned to happen in late 2015 – early 2016 at the Northern Shipyard in St.Petersburg. The corvette will carry a helicopter on board. The possibility of equipping the ship with unmanned aerial vehicles is currently under review. 

Kronstadt Marine Shipyard Plans to Repair Twice as Much Ships
The shipbuilders of Kronstadt Marine Shipyard plan to double the rate of executing the state defense order for repairing ships. The stock of state defense orders is expected to include 120 repair orders, which is twice as much as the last year. The warship orders will probably be complemented with an increased number of civil ship repairs.

Pella Leningrad Shipyard Launches the RB-366 Tug
Pella Leningrad Shipyard launched the RB-366 tug of type 90600 (hull No. 943). The tug will be delivered to the State Customer, the Russian Navy, and inducted into the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Federation within one year.

Krasnye Barrikady Shipyard Plans to Construct Multi-Purpose Ships
Krasnye Barrikady Shipyard has developed a project under the import substitution program. The project is aimed at increasing the cargo turnover of agricultural products using waterways and inland routes of the Russian Federation and the Caspian Sea. The Krasnye Barrikady project proposes the construction of multi-purpose river/sea vessels capable of carrying vegetables, wood, grains and other cargoes. The Astrakhan shipyards are expected to jointly construct five to six ships of this type within three years.

Hull Casting and Official Keel-Laying Ceremony for Mine Countermeasures Vessel for the Russian Navy
On 26 February 2015 the hull of the first of a series of three new generation mine countermeasures vessels for the Russian Navy was cast at SNSZ shipyard. The official keel-laying ceremony is scheduled for the end of April. The lead ship of the series is the minesweeper Alexander Obukhov developed by Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau and intended for search and defeat of mines in naval bases at a safe distance from the vessel.

Events

Baltika Icebreaker Hoists Russian State Flag
The head of the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transportation, Alexandr Davydenko, took part in the official ceremony of raising the RF state flag on the multi-function search and rescue ship Baltika which was held on 20 February in St.Petersburg. The ceremony opened with the report of the ship's master A.Vangonen and director of the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transportation A.Davydenko to the deputy minister of transport of Russia Viktor Olersky confirming the readiness of Baltika to carry out rescue duties and oil spill response activities.

Korabelka Students Win Prizes in the City Marine Quest
The weekend in St. Petersburg was marked by the Marine Quest, i.e. a thematic team game which engaged the students of St.Petersburg State Marine Technical University and other educational institutions.
The teams competed in sleight of mind and city navigation, solved riddles and charades related to the history of the Russian Fleet. Included in the quest was the quiz containing the questions about the history of St.Petersburg, the marine capital of our State. 

Gazprom Oil Company Pioneered Winter Transportation of Oil by Sea from Yamal
Gazprom Oil Company successfully coped with the challenge of shipping the oil by sea from Yamal Peninsula in winter. The cargo is planned to arrive in Europe in March. The first shipment volume from New port is 16 000 tons. Gazprom Oil Company plans to offload by sea over 50 000 tons of hydrocarbons by May 2015. Crude oil is shipped by tankers accompanied by the nuclear-powered icebreaker of Atomflot Company.

Government Approves Construction of New Port in Arkhangelsk
The Russian government has approved the project of a new deepwater port in Arkhangelsk. The preliminary investment volume is over 35 billion rubles. The new 180 ha port construction project is included in the RF Transport Strategy till 2030. The project is directly concerned with the Belkomur main railway construction.

Cruise Liner to Start Sailing from Yalta to Istanbul in April
The cruise liner will restart its crossings between Yalta and Istanbul that were stopped when Crimea joined the RF. This statement was given by the Deputy Minister of Crimea Resorts and Tourism, Olga Burova. The route of Adriana cruise liner will be Yalta – Istanbul – Yalta. The liner will sail from Yalta every Saturday, stay in port of Istanbul for three days and come back to Yalta on Friday.

Reconstruction of the Berth in Crimea Port to be Extended Till 10 March
Since the reconstruction of the berth in Crimea port has been extended till 10 March, the ferries will make daily crossings under the temporary schedule with daily break from 6:40 till 15:00.

Seaport of St. Petersburg Warns of Possible Frauds by Fake Recruiting Agencies
Since the number of applications from deceived job-seekers has increased, Seaport of St. Petersburg warns of possible frauds by fake one-day recruiting agencies. They offer jobs in Seaport of St. Petersburg or in its Marine Recruiting Agency branch office. Fake recruiting agencies promise jobs in the port via the Internet fully or partly using the name and logo of the Seaport of St. Petersburg or Marine Recruiting Agency, and charge fees for making health books, dock entry permits or for buying work clothes.

Incidents and Accidents

Ghost Barge to Spend Spring Drifting in Ice of the Chukchi Sea
The Canadian barge trapped in ice is drifting some 12 miles off the Russian coast in Chukchi Sea. The barge will drift in ice till the end of May. It was agreed not to send the icebreaker to rescue and tow the barge towards the coast since this operation is unreasonable. The barge is likely to stay in ice till the warm spell which is expected to arrive in our region in May.

Diesel-Electric Submarine and Fish Trawler Collide in the Port of Mumbai
The Indian Navy diesel-electric submarine Sindugosh and the fish trawler collided in the port of Mumbai. The collision was insignificant and no victims or injured were reported on the ground. The incident took place a few days ago but was made public with delay since Sindugosh participated in naval maneuvers as part of the large flotilla. At the moment of collision she kept total radar silence to avoid being detected by the maneuver enemy. 

Passenger Ferry Capsizes in Macau
The passenger ferry capsized in Chinese city of Macau. The sunken wreck was a smuggling boat. It carried 19 people on board: captain, two sailors and 16 stowaways. Four people were survived, the rest 15 reported missing.

Vessel from St.Petersburg Loses Power in the Barents Sea
The catcher vessel SP-4326 Belomorsk from St.Petersburg lost power 150 miles east off the coast of the Kola Bay due to the main engine failure. The head of the Northern Search and Rescue Expeditionary Unit, Anatoly Leontyev said that Purga rescue vessel headed to the area of the incident. Another rescue vessel which is essential due to adverse weather conditions is expected to depart at 18:00 to help Purga and Belomorsk.

Foreign Colleagues

CMA CGM accepts into service the Seventh Bosphormax
CMA CGM has accepted into service CMA CGM Rhone, the seventh container carrier of Bosphormax series. The ship departed for the first voyage from the Chinese Shipyard on 20 February 2015. The ship flying the flag of Malta will be operated by Bosphorus Express. The route includes the following ports: Dalian, Tianjin, Kwangyang, Pusan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shiwan, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Izmit, Istanbul (Ambarli), Constan?a, Odessa, Ilyichevsk, Port Said, Port Klang and Singapore.

Maersk Line Continues to Reduce Ship Speed on Ocean Routes
Maersk Line does not plan to move aside the so called "slow-steaming" strategy of reducing ship speed on ocean routes, despite the bunker cheapening. The director general of AP Moller Group, Nils Andersen, during the telephone conference on financial results of the group in 2014 declared that this decision did not seem to be a risk factor for Maersk Line competitive strength and expressed confidence that the majority of freight carriers would reach the same conclusion.

American Investment Fund Siguler Guff Purchases 50% of the Container Terminal Shares in the Port of Ilyichevsk
Direct investment fund Siguler Guff & Company became a shareholder of the Ilyichevsk container terminal with indirect participation of 50%. The Investment Fund management is going to develop the productive capacity of the Ilyichevsk container terminal to increase container handling capacities. According to Director General of the Ilyichevsk container terminal, Andrey Pavlyutin, the participation of a new partner will make a positive impact on implementing the terminal plans. The Ilyichevsk container terminal currently invests 56 million dollars in the Ilyichevsk port infrastructure development.

China is Ready to Construct Amphibious Assault Ships for Export
Chinese company CSTC demonstrated the export model of a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship on the International Defense Exhibition IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi. The ship will be slightly smaller than LPDs 071 which join the PLA Navy. The fourth ship of this type was launched on 22 January. 

Review prepared by Ekaterina Leonova