Nordic Yards, leading provider of large-scale maritime projects, has signed a contract for the construction of two ice-breaking rescue and salvage vessels. The client is the Russian Ministry of Transport. Owing to their ice-breaking capabilities, the vessels will operate on the northern polar sea route in the Arctic, namely in the region of Murmansk, and in Sakhalin.
“After the successes in the Offshore Wind field we are very pleased with this contract and the associated expansion of the Offshore Oil & Gas business segment. With these orders, we are once again underlining the validity of our strategy and our focus on extremely sophisticated products. I am particularly pleased about the fact that we have laid the foundation stone for our high level of credibility on the Russian market, which is very important to us,” explains Vitaly Yusufov, Managing Director of Nordic Yards.
The commissioned vessels will be used for patrols and rescue operations in offshore oil and gas fields. They are highly specialised, have a complex level of equipment and are designed for searching for and rescuing ships in distress, evacuating people and providing them with medical care.
The vessels are icebreakers of the second highest ice class, which are designed for the Arctic and therefore suitable for rescue operations in harsh environments. They can be used both for ice-breaking operations in harbours and waters with an ice thickness of one metre as well as for fire-fighting and combating oil spills from the sea.
Due to their specialised equipment, the vessels can study the ocean floor and damaged objects at depths of up to 1,000 metres. Both will furthermore be equipped with a helipad on the bow.
The engineering and start of construction will take place in 2013. Delivery of the 86 metres long and 19 metres wide vessels is planned for spring 2015.
Financing will be provided by the Russian state and has already been secured for both projects. The total volume of the orders is 150 million euros (approx $198 Mln). One of the Russian Top 5 banks oversees the projects.
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Nordic Yards, December 21, 2012