VESSEL REVIEW | Kazarka & Krechet – Buoy tender pair to be operated in Russia's Volga-Baltic Waterway

Saint Petersburg-based shipbuilder Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant recently handed over two new buoy tenders in a series ordered from the company by Rechvodput, the federal inland waterway transport agency of the Russian government.

Kazarka (Казарка) and Krechet (Кречет) are the first two vessels under the Project 3050.1A series of 13 buoy tenders built by Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant to a design by the R-Flot Group’s subsidiary Gorky Central Design Bureau.

The vessels will be used primarily for maintenance of buoys and other aids to navigation in inland waterways, whereas their secondary duties will include monitoring of water depths and handling of non-self-propelled barges of 400 tonnes displacement or lower via towing or pushing.

Capable of extended-duration operations

The new monohull buoy tenders were acquired as part of Rechvodput’s ongoing renewal program covering the agency’s navigation service fleet. Each has a steel hull, an aluminium superstructure, a length of 26.8 metres (87.9 feet), a beam of 4.2 metres (14 feet), a draught of only one metre (3.3 feet), a depth of 1.5 metres (4.9 feet), a main diesel engine with an output of 220 kW (300 hp), and a crew of six.

The tenders will also be able to operate for up to six days before returning to port and can sail at speeds of up to 10.7 knots. A bow thruster will meanwhile provide each vessel with additional lateral manoeuvrability essential for navigating in narrow waters.

The electronics suite on each vessel includes modern communication and navigation equipment as well as systems that help ensure efficient engine control. For maintenance duties, each vessel will rely on a deck crane with a one-tonne maximum lifting capacity.

First in a new inland maintenance vessel fleet

The first two Project 3050.1A buoy tenders will be operated by the Rechvodput branch office responsible for the Volga-Baltic Inland Waterways Basin.

Kazarka and Krechet were built in compliance with Russian River Register requirements including those that cover vessels operating in ice 20 navigation areas. The remaining eleven Project 3050.1A buoy tenders, including Styerkh and Cibis, which recently completed undergoing sea trials, will serve other Rechvodput jurisdictions following their respective deliveries.