Zvezdochka Shipyard lays ice-class ship for Russian Navy
Zvezdochka Shipyard on December 20, 2011 held keel-laying ceremony for a naval ammunition ship of Project 20180TB. The project was developed by Central Marine Design Bureau ‘Almaz’, the shipbuilding firm said. The ice-class vessel was named "Academic Kovalev."
Zvezdochka Shipyard and the Russian Defense Ministry signed the state contract for construction and delivery of the ship on September 15, 2011. The vessel is designed for transportation of weapons by sea. The Academic Kovalev will join Russia’s Navy fleet at the end of 2014.
Ship main characteristics: LOA - 107.6 m, extreme breadth - 17,8 m, full-load displacement - 6300 tons, the crew - 60 people. Ship can accommodate a K-29 helicopter.
In 2010 the shipbuilding firm delivered to the Customer a salvage tugboat of Project 20180 named Zvezdochka, which operates now at Belomorskaya service naval base.
Severodvinsk-based Zvezdochka shipyard is a diversified shipbuilding enterprise. It has two covered slipways with 7 shipbuilding sites which are designed for overhaul and construction of vessels with a launching weight of up to 18,000 tons. The firm is majority owned by Northern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Center, part of JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation.
