ZNT Yard rolls out new search-and-rescue boat for Russia

Russia’s Nizhegorodsky Teplokhod Shipyard (ZNT Yard) has rolled out a new offshore search-and-rescue (SAR) boat built under project 23040 for the Russian Defence Ministry.

Built as part of a contract signed last March for the construction of 16 search-and-rescue boats, the latest 23040 project vessel is continuation to a sequence of ten diving boats built during 2010-12 for Gosmorspassluzhba.

Prior to being delivered to Russian Defence Ministry by end of summer, the boat will undergo mooring and sea trials in addition to state tests, reported Port News.

Of the overall order for 16, four vessels had already been built and delivered to the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet by late 2013.

The delivery programme for 2014 involves six vessels, comprising three for the Astrakhan based Caspian Flotilla and three for the Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt, while remaining six of the overall order, for delivery next year, are intended for the Baltic Fleet.

With larger dimensions, superior specific power and ice class compared to Flamingo boats and their successors, the 23040 project boat allows carrying out search/examination/inspection works using a tiny joystick controlled vehicle and towed sonar.

Capable of accommodating three crew and five divers, the 118t, 28.09m long vessel features two 441kW main engines, two 80kW diesel-generators and one 20kW emergency diesel generator, while it can cruise at an operational speed of about 13.7k.