VESSEL REVIEW | Nikolai Semenchenko – Emergency response workhorse for Russian Marine Rescue Service

Russia's Akhtuba Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Plant has handed over a new tug to the Russian Marine Rescue Service.

Designed by Russian naval architecture firm Nordic Engineering, the Project NE011 tug Nikolai Semenchenko honours Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenchenko, the head of the Marine Rescue Service's technical department who is also credited with numerous successful at-sea rescues dating back to the Second World War. The vessel will be used for a range of roles including towing, maintenance of aids to navigation, dredging and construction support, limited cargo transport, search and rescue (SAR), and firefighting in both inland and coastal waterways.

Nikolai Semenchenko has an LOA of 27.41 metres, a beam of 10.12 metres, a minimum draught of two metres, a depth of 3.3 metres, space for nine crewmembers, and a deadweight of 95. An ice-strengthened hull allows the tug to break through surface ice of up to 70 centimetres thick. When operating behind a dedicated icebreaker, the tug can navigate in solid surface ice of up to 65 centimetres thick.

The propulsion system consists of two 640kW diesel engines and a bow thruster. This arrangement propels the tug to a cruising speed of 11 knots, enabling it to sail for up to 1,900 nautical miles or stay out at sea for 10 days. When engaged in towing and at 85 per cent MCR, the engines will allow the tug to sail 825 nautical miles.

The vessel also boasts a two-tier deckhouse, an ergonomically laid-out wheelhouse, and a berthing compartment near the bow. The mast can be folded prone on the wheelhouse roof to allow passage underneath bridges and other low-hanging structures.

Nikolai Semenchenko was built in compliance to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping's Ice3 and Navigation Area R2 requirements. It will be operated by the Russian Marine Rescue Service's station responsible for emergency response duties in the Black Sea and in the Sea of Azov.

Some of our readers have expressed disquiet at our publication of reviews and articles describing new vessels from Russia. We at Baird Maritime can understand and sympathise with those views. However, despite the behaviour of the country's leaders, we believe that the maritime world needs to learn of the latest developments in vessel design and construction there.

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