Lotos Shipyard lays keel of two bucket-wheel dredgers

Lotos Shipyard (Southern Center of Shipbuilding and Ship Repair of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) recently held a keel-laying ceremony for two dredgers of Project 93.159.

The vessels are part of the contract signed by Lotos Shipyard and State Transport Leasing Company for construction of four self-propelled bucket-wheel dredgers for Ob-Irtysh and North-Dvina Basins of IWW.

The ceremony was held on December 3rd and attended by Deputy Transport Minister of Russia Yury Tsvetkov, Astrakhan Region Governor Igor Babushkin, head of Ob-Irtysh Basin Administration Roman Chesnokov and head of Southern Center of Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Aleksey Seleznyov.

According to the shipbuilder, the yard laid down first two ships of the series (hulls No. 504, 505) in September 2020. Construction of the vessels is moving ahead of schedule.

Technical design of the ships was developed by Royal IHC (Netherlands), detailed construction documentation – by Gorky Central Design Bureau for River Fleet (GCKB Rechflot).

The dredgers can be operated at the temperature between -10ºС (in ice-free waters) and +35ºС. They are intended for dredging/removal of alluvium from rivers and canals, construction of canals.