On October 5, 2023, in Shlisselburg, Nevsky Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant LLC (part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation JSC) launched the project 23130 Vasily Nikitin medium sea tanker under construction for the Russian Navy (factory number 902).
Launched at the Nevsky Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant LLC, the Vasily Nikitin medium sea tanker under construction for the Russian Navy (factory number 902) of project 23130. Shlisselburg, 05.10.2023 (c) JSC "United Shipbuilding Corporation"
The new vessel is the second (first serial) medium sea tanker of project 23130. and the first unit in a series of three medium sea tankers of this project being built by Nevsky SSZ under a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation signed on December 17, 2020.
The vessel is named after Colonel-General Vasily Nikitin (1914 - 1984), who from 1953 until 1984 was the head of the Fuel Service of the Armed Forces of the USSR (then the Central Directorate of Rocket Fuel and Fuel of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR).
The laying of the tanker "Vasily Nikitin" (factory number 902) was carried out at the Nevsky SSZ on March 26, 2021. The medium sea tanker Vasily Nikitin was planned for delivery to the Black Sea Fleet in 2023, but in the end, as usual, the construction period was not met.
Also under this contract, medium-sized marine tankers "Engineer-Admiral Kotov" (factory number 903, laid without publicity in 2022) and "Alexey Shein" (factory number 904, laid on March 16, 2023) were laid at the Nevsky SSZ.
At the laying ceremony of the tanker "Vasily Nikitin", the head of the auxiliary fleet service of the Transport Support Department of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, Captain 1st Rank Sergey Epifanov, said that "five tankers of this project will be built by 2027, which will guarantee to meet the needs of the Navy in the far sea zone."
The medium sea tanker "Vasily Nikitin" is the second vessel of the project 23130. Earlier, Nevsky Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant LLC, under a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Russia dated November 1, 2013, at a cost of 2.978 billion rubles, carried out the construction of the head medium sea tanker of project 23130 with the name "Academician Pashin" (factory number 901). The laying of the tanker "Akademik Pashin" was carried out at the plant in Shlisselburg on April 26, 2014. The tanker was removed from the boathouse of the plant on March 18, 2016 and launched on May 26, 2016. Factory sea trials of the tanker were started on Lake Ladoga on May 17, 2018, and on July 22, 2019, the tanker arrived in Murmansk to pass the final stage of State tests. On January 21, 2020, a ceremony was held in Severomorsk for the commissioning of the tanker Akademik Pashin project 23130 into the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. The tanker takes an active part in ensuring the activities of Russian Navy ships in the far sea zone.
In general, the construction of the tanker "Akademik Pashin" was carried out with a delay of more than three years (that is, twice) from the contractual terms. Apparently, this was partly due to Western sanctions, since the main power plant (Wartsila diesel engines) and a significant part of the auxiliary mechanisms of this vessel are imported. It was planned to import foreign components on serial vessels of this type.
Project 23130 was developed by CJSC "Spetssudoproekt". The tanker with a deadweight of 9,000 tons has the greatest length of 130 m, width of 21.5 m, draft of 7 m, cruising range - up to 8000 miles, autonomy - 60 days, crew - 24 people. The speed of the vessel in full load with a maximum draft of 16 knots.
The functionality of the tanker will allow it to deliver fuel simultaneously to three vessels going from it at a distance of 50 to 100 meters on board or in the wake.
Independent navigation of the ship in the Nearctic seas is not limited by anything. It corresponds to the category of ice reinforcement "Arc 4" and has the ability to independently navigate in sparse annual Arctic ice with a thickness of up to 0.8 meters in summer-autumn and up to 0.6 meters in winter-spring navigation.
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The medium sea tanker Vasily Nikitin (factory number 902) of project 23130 under construction at Nevsky Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant LLC for the Russian Navy before launching. Shlisselburg, 05.10.2023 (c) JSC "United Shipbuilding Corporation"