Russian Civil Shipbuilding Sector

Russia's largest dry dock is under construction ahead of schedule

A dry dock on the territory of the Zvezda shipbuilding complex is a structure with a bottom mark below the water level in the water area, separated from the water area by a watertight gate - a bathoport. In the dock chamber, the assembly of ship blocks is carried out for the complete assembly of ships using a gantry crane with a lifting capacity of 1200 tons. The blocks are prepared in advance at the pre-assembly site. After the completion of the assembly of the vessel for its withdrawal, the dry dock is filled with seawater. When the water level in the dock is equal to the water area, the bathoport is retracted, opening the entrance, and the ship leaves the dock. The final completion and equipment of ships can be carried out at the outfitting quays located next to the dock. In addition, within the framework of the contract, in accordance with the technological solutions for the use of the dry dock, provision is made for installation of dock intermediate gates at two locations. This decision is explained by the fact that in the rear part of the dock, construction of half of the hull of the new generation LK-120 vessel and the simultaneous construction of the complete hull of the LNG tanker at the head of the dock is ensured. The second position of the intermediate gate is provided to ensure the simultaneous construction of the hull of the new generation vessel LK-120 and the construction of the full hull of the Aframax tanker at the head. The dock chamber is filled by gravity, emptying - using pumps. The second position of the intermediate gate is provided to ensure the simultaneous construction of the hull of the new generation vessel LK-120 and the construction of the full hull of the Aframax tanker at the head. The dock chamber is filled by gravity, emptying - using pumps. The second position of the intermediate gate is provided to ensure the simultaneous construction of the hull of the new generation vessel LK-120 and the construction of the full hull of the Aframax tanker at the head. The dock chamber is filled by gravity, emptying - using pumps.

The dry dock is a reinforced concrete chamber, separated from the sea by a gate and consisting of walls, a bottom, intermediate gates and a ramp for the exit to the dock. Outside the dry dock, there are pre-assembly areas, berths for unloading heavy loads, materials and equipment. All areas around the dock and along the quays have a solid reinforced concrete pavement. Dry dock parameters: length 485 m, width 114 m, depth 14 m.

The main structural elements of a dry dock are: a chamber, a sill, a pumping station, a western abutment, a working gate (batoport), crane runways, lifting and transport equipment, power and pumping equipment, drainage networks and equipment, mooring and fender equipment for input / output, centering and landing of ships, support devices, engineering networks.

The dry dock chamber consists of wall sections, a bottom, a head part, including a threshold and abutment, a pumping station room, service galleries, access roads, gantry crane tracks and outfitting cranes.

As of January 2020, the following types of work have been completed on the construction of the dry dock:

• filling of the bulkhead;

• IZU device;

• installation of bored piles: walls and bottom, abutment and threshold of dry dock, main pumping station;

• filling the rear of the dry dock;

• installation of bored piles for service galleries;

• construction of a dry dock pit.

Currently, during the construction of the dry dock, concreting works are being carried out:

• east and west walls;

• bottoms;

• threshold and dock abutment;

• ramps;

• main pumping station.

At the same time, work is underway to build a pre-dock site, outfitting embankments No. 2, 3. It is planned that in 2020 the construction of a dry dock will be completed.

Novatek, the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia, has announced that it will be expanding its fleet of gas carriers to 65 vessels by 2026, four times its current fleet size.

The announcement was made on the final day of the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Yevgeny Ambrosov, Novatek’s director of maritime operations, shipping and logistics, commented: “In terms of number, the fleet of Qatar is probably larger, but in terms of value, sophistication and capabilities, Novatek’s fleet will be the most powerful one”.

Ambrosov added that the bulk of the new vessels will be built in Russia. The Zvezda Shipbuilding Complex at Bolshoy Kamen will be a major beneficiary of the fleet expansion plans.

Novatek entered the global LNG market in 2017 by successfully launching the Yamal LNG project. The export terminal is based in Russia’s Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region which currently accounts for 15% of the world’s gas production.

ALAMO wrote:

GarryB wrote:
That is an enormous capacity to ship product around the world right there...

Zvezda alone will possess a bigger capacity than the whole Soviet one, including big yards in Ukraine SSR.
In its final shape, will be able to process 330 000 tons of steel each year.
Now it is 250 000 or so and is more than whole Russian potential other than Zvezda combined.
Not to mention that today's effectiveness is much better than it was back in soviet times.
If we add the fact, that procedures&staff training is being made with Koreans, who are absolute masters of shipbuilding, that makes this shipyard a true monster.
Its technical potential will be compared to Daewoo and Samsung yards in Korea, and those two are real beasts.

Keel of pilot gas carrier "Sovcomflot" for Arctic LNG 2 was laid at SSK "Zvezda"

On June 15, 2021, a keel-laying ceremony for a new icebreaking gas carrier of the Sovcomflot Group of Companies (SCF) took place at the Zvezda shipbuilding complex (SSC) (Primorsky Territory).

This is a pilot vessel of the series, consisting of 15 gas carriers, ordered from SSK Zvezda to service the Arctic LNG 2 project, and the first vessel of such dimensions, cargo capacity and ice-moving characteristics, which is being built at a Russian shipyard.

The pilot gas carrier is owned by the Sovcomflot group, the remaining 14 vessels in the series are owned by SMART LNG, a joint venture between PAO Sovcomflot and PAO NOVATEK.

All vessels of the series will operate under long-term time-charter contracts with OOO Arctic LNG 2. Construction is financed by VEB.RF. All 15 gas carriers will operate under the state flag of the Russian Federation, construction is supervised by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) in cooperation with Bureau Veritas (BV).

The delivery of ships is scheduled for 2023-2025. The keel-laying of the pilot vessel was carried out in accordance with the terms stipulated by the contract.

GarryB wrote: A cynical anti Russian article piece of crap... Russian ship builders can't handle making blue water ships... so the two helicopter carriers they are building in the 40,000 ton weight range are not ships... what are they exactly?

This piece of rubbish sounds like the whining we normally get from some members here... why are they not building super carriers... china can make super carriers... why not get china to make them some ships.

Russia gives contracts to foreign shipyards for non military projects when local companies are too busy.

I rather suspect there is not enough margin in building drydocks and the Russian shipyards probably looked at the ships they are building and the number of slipways that would be kept busy for this drydock and likely decided they didn't want the job.

It is a Jamestown article... an American thinktank that cannot say anything nice about Russia... and because if that it is very clear that Russia is doing rather better than they want to admit and they are clearly scared... excellent.