Lighter carrier "Sevmorput": characteristics and photos

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Soviet lighter carrier Sevmorput is a transport icebreaker equipped with a KLT-40 type nuclear power system. The ship is one of the four largest analogues designed for non-military operations with a nuclear unit. The transporter was designed and developed in Leningrad (1978, B altsudproekt Central Design Bureau). By order of the USSR government, the ship was built in Kerch at the Zaliv plant. She was laid down in November 1984, launched in February 1986. The official commissioning of the ship took place in 1988.

History of Creation

Lighter carrier "Severmorput" is the only ship of project 10081. There were ideas to build a similar floating facility, but the collapse of the USSR affected the closure of work on the Design Bureau "Zaliv". The ship in question is designed to transport various cargoes in a container way to the remote northern regions of the country. The maneuverability of the vessel in ice is carried out with a thickness of up to one meter.

In the first trials, the Severmorput lighter carrier was operated on the international route along the route Odessa - Vietnam - Vladivostok - North Korea. It is noteworthy that this ship can operate inwarm waters. The subsequent operation of the vessel was carried out on the section Murmansk - Dudinka - Murmansk. In 2007, Rostekhnadzor specialists checked the ship's nuclear plant. The conclusion states that the equipment complies with regulatory requirements and ensures radiation safety.

In August of the same year, the Murmansk Shipping Company announced the conversion of a container ship into a floating drilling vessel. According to the reorientation plan, work on reorientation of the container should be done in a year and a half. The main reason for this decision was the low tariff rate for the operation of lighter carriers. This plan was not destined to take place. In the winter of 2008, the conversion project was canceled and the vessel was transferred to the jurisdiction of another operator.

Interesting facts

In 2008 (August) the lighter carrier Severmorput was finally transferred to the FSUE Atomflot nuclear icebreaker fleet. In the autumn of the next year, the general director of the company, V. Ruksha, said that this vessel was idle. If the current situation continues, it will have to be taken for disassembly. And this is despite the fact that his working potential at that time was at least 15 years old.

Official documentation indicates that the nuclear plant should have been finally stopped by the end of 2012, the beginning of 2013. Already in June 2013, the ship's nuclear power unit was completely shut down. The ups and downs with the considered watercraft do not end there. By decree of the Director General of Rosatom S. Kiriyenko, at the end of 2013work began on the restoration of the nuclear-powered lighter carrier Severmorput. The plans include: the resumption of the functioning of the nuclear installation, the purchase and loading of the appropriate fuel. The planned date for putting the ship into full-scale operation is March 2016. The main task of the ship for the future is the development and development of the shelf of the Pavlovsky ore deposit. According to the general director, the vessel will be in demand, since there are no analogues of it.

Update

The completion of the ship involved the replacement of part of the equipment and engineering elements. The updated Sevmorput is a lighter carrier, which was supposed to be equipped with two additional cranes, a new wastewater treatment system, more advanced pipelines and pumping units. In addition, a modern radar station appeared. The cost of modernization at that time amounted to more than 55 million rubles.

In November 2015, the ship returned to Murmansk. In May 2016, the modernized ship went on its first voyage, which ran to Kotelny Island. On board the container ship were building materials and food. At the last moment, the Sevmorput icebreaking lighter carrier is the only operational model in its class used as an engine for a nuclear power plant.

Specifications

The following are the main parameters of the technical plan of the ship in question:

• Manufacturer - Kerch Shipyard.
• Year of issue - 1988.
• Displacement -61.8 thousand tons.
• Length/width/height - 260/32/18 meters.
• Draft - 1180 mm.
• Power unit - nuclear plant GTZA-684 OM5.
• The power indicator is 39.4 thousand horsepower.
• Control - adjustable propeller with four blades.
• Speed limit is 21 knots per hour.
• Carrying capacity - 74 lighters or 126 20-foot containers.

Description

The nuclear-powered icebreaking lighter carrier "Sevmorput" is a non-self-propelled sea vessel designed to transport various types of cargo. At the same time, their processing is ensured even in the absence of berths, unloading and loading operations are carried out in case of impossibility of ships entering the port due to heavy draft.

The ship in question has a mass of about 300 tons, thanks to an absolutely sealed hull, it can be in the water on its own, like a barge. The low draft makes it possible to pull the transport as close to the shore as possible with the help of a suitable tug.

The uniqueness of the vessel lies in the possibility of its operation without the presence of deep-water marinas. This allows you to deliver goods to places that are completely not equipped for such purposes. The holds and decks of the ship make it possible to transport up to 74 containers, which are stacked in two rows by a special crane. Using specific grips, the loading device fixes the lighters rigidly. The launch of the cargo into the water is carried out through the stern. Unloading if necessarycan be done without stopping the vessel.

Powertrain

The Sevmorput lighter carrier, the photo of which is presented above, is equipped with a power plant that allows an unlimited period of time on the road. The main nuclear unit produces steam, which drives the turbine. A diesel engine acts as a backup engine, heating the boiler and delivering about 50 tons of steam per hour.

The container ship is equipped with three turbine generators with a capacity of 1700 kW each, as well as five emergency analogues, the total power of which is 1400 kW. The ship has a propeller with adjustable pitch, which makes it possible to protect it from breakage when the blades hit large ice floes. In addition, the nuclear-powered ship is equipped with a waste incinerator with a capacity of 50 kilograms per hour. There is also a sea ice cleaning and disinfection system, which ensures autonomous stay for crew members. The team is provided with a sauna, swimming pool, gym, separate cabins.

Modern history

The Sevmorput lighter carrier, the characteristics of which are given above, is the only transport vessel in the world equipped with a nuclear power plant. The container ship spent a lot of time in the parking lot (from 2007 to 2013). However, the ship did not get decommissioned, but successfully completed sea trials after a two-year repair. After completion of the deck and cabins, it is planned to determine for the nuclear-powered shipusual mode of operation. According to domestic and foreign experts, the Sevmorput is a real breakthrough of the 21st century.

The ship was built in 1988, it is capable of almost itself to provide the entire northern delivery on the territory of the Russian Arctic. Now the transport lighter carrier is ready to go on polar expeditions, while its service life will be at least 15 years.

Finally

Civil use of lighter carriers actively began to develop in the 70s of the last century. This is due to the intensification of the development of the polar latitudes, as well as the delivery of humanitarian assistance to countries in need. The main reason for the decline in the operation of such vessels was the collapse of the USSR and the lack of a centralized supply. Military bases were disbanded, and cartographic surveys of remote northern territories were stopped. It is worth noting that over the entire history of the service, the nuclear-powered lighter carrier Sevmorput has transported more than one and a half million tons of cargo.