![First steel cut for new Siberian river cruise ship](http://media.assettype.com/bairdmaritime%2Fimport%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F200527-1-USC.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
Russia's Sredne-Nevsky Shipbuilding Plant has cut the first steel for the first of two Project A45-90.2 river cruise ships ordered by local owner State Transport Leasing Company.
Once it enters service in 2023, the 99- by 14-metre vessel will be used to accommodate up to 245 passengers on voyages along the Yenisei River between the Siberian cities of Krasnoyarsk and Dudinka.
The keel-laying is scheduled for July 2020.