VESSEL REVIEW | Yuri Popsuev – New pusher tug for Russia’s Sheksna Shipping

Moscow-based transport company Sheksna Shipping recently took delivery of a new inland pusher tug from Cherepovets Shipbuilding Plant (CSP), a shipyard located in the city of Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia.

Designed by local naval architecture company Rechflot State Central Design Bureau (R-Flot), Yuri Popsuev is the first vessel to be completed under the Project TSK.395 series of pusher tugs that comply with the Ice 30 hull strengthening notation of the Russian River Register (RRR). This notation ensures that the tug's hull is durable enough to enable navigation even in fine broken surface ice of up to 30 centimetres in thickness.

The tug and two non-self-propelled dry cargo barges are being built by CSP as part of Sheksna Shipping's plan to expand the scope of its transport services in the inland waterways of the country. These three vessels are also the first vessels to be constructed by CSP, which officially began operating in 2019.

CSP was selected as the main contractor in the tug newbuilding program, though numerous companies under the Rechflot Group were also involved in the design and construction stages. R-Flot Design provided conceptual design work and also built the vessel's cabin and the superstructure while R-Flot Shipbuilding was responsible for all hull-related works including assembly and welding.

The all-steel tug has an LOA of 22.3 metres, a beam of 7.4 metres, a draught of 1.5 metres, a depth of 2.84 metres, a displacement of 100 tonnes, and space for eight crewmembers. Two Yamz-536 diesel engines with a total rated output of 440 kW deliver a service speed of just over nine knots and a maximum endurance of 108 hours, allowing the tug to sail on near-uninterrupted point-to-point voyages when pushing or towing barges even under mild winter conditions.

Yuri Popsuev and the two cargo barges being built by CSP will initially be deployed on grain transport voyages in anticipation of growing domestic demand for grain products.

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