Two identically designed ice-breaking rescue and salvage vessels have been ceremonially named at Nordic Yards in Wismar, Germany.
After a construction period of around seventeen months they were named Beringov Proliv and Murman.
In December 2012 Russia's Ministry of Transport placed an order with Nordic Yards for the multipurpose rescue and salvage vessels (MPRSV) and production began in September 2013.
Each vessel is 88-metres in length, nearly 19-metres wide and can accommodate a crew of up to 38. From springtime onwards they will be used by Russia's maritime rescue services for patrols and rescue operations in the Arctic.
The 'Beringov Proliv' will mainly operate in the Sakhalin region while the 'Murman' will cover the North-East Passage around Murmansk.
They can carry out search and rescue operations as well as emergency towing, even in extreme weather conditions, while their on-board hospital facilities enable medical treatment of survivors.
The vessels are capable of extinguishing fires and responding to oil spills, and in harbours or open water they can break through ice with a thickness of one metre. In addition, the vessels contain technological instruments for searching the seafloor and damaged objects to depths of up to 1,000 metres. Both have a helipad on the bow.
