Zvezda Shipyard starts steel cutting for first Arctic shuttle tanker of ARC6 class
Bolshoy Kamen, Russia based Shipbuilding Complex Zvezda (Zvezda Shipyard) says it has started steel cutting for the first 69,000-dwt Arctic shuttle tanker of ARC6 class.
The first steel plates have been cut in hull production workshop by highly accurate plasma gas cutting machine.
According to the statement, this order opens the new product line of the shipyard, large shuttle tankers of Arctic class, that will let the company master new technologies.
With its high ice class, the tanker will be capable of independent navigation in the Arctic seas, without assistance of icebreakers, in first-year open ice of up to 1.1 meters thick in winter-spring season and up to 1.7 meters thick in summer-autumn season. The ship’s length is 257 meters (7 meters more as compared with Aframax tankers), its width is 34 meters. With a propulsion system including steerable propellers, the total capacity of the power plant is about 26,900 kW.
Zvezda Shipyard is being established at the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Centre (FESRC) by a consortium led by Rosneft in pursuance of RF President’s order.
The product line of Zvezda will include vessels with a displacement of up to 350,000 tonnes, elements of offshore platforms, ice-class vessels, commercial vessels for cargo transportation, special vessels and other types of marine equipment of any complexity, characteristics and purposes, including equipment that was previously not produced in Russia due to the lack of necessary launching and hydraulic structures. By the time the project is completed, the shipyard's capacity for metal processing will be more than 330 thousand tons per year. Totally, the production programme of Zvezda foresees the construction of 178 vessels and offshore facilities of different types by 2035.
