The Southern Centre for Shipbuilding and Ship Repair division of Russia's state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation has begun conducting mooring trials of a new inland sand dredger slated for the country's Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transportation (Rosmorrechflot).
The vessel belongs to the Project 93.159 series of self-propelled, bucket wheel dredgers, the first example of which was handed over to Rosmorrechflot in 2023.
The mooring tests will gauge the functionality of the propulsion machinery as well as the communications and navigation electronics. Later tests will be conducted on the fuel and cooling systems.
The Project 93.159 series was designed by Dutch engineering consultancy Royal IHC but equipped exclusively with Russian-made components. The vessels, which will be owned by State Transport Leasing Company, will be used for dredging in the Ob and Dvina Rivers as well as some of their tributaries.
The development and introduction of these dredgers is in line with the Russian government's goal of expanding the development of inland water transport.