VESSEL REVIEW | Steelbeton 0-01 – Floating oil storage platform built for Russian coastal and inland waters

Russia’s Galaktika Shipyard has completed construction of a new non-self-propelled floating oil storage platform.

Steelbeton 0-01 (Сталебетон 0-01) was designed by Saint Petersburg-based engineering firm Baltspetsproekt. It is the first to be built under the Project 04650 series of oil storage platforms, which were designed to be capable of year-round storage of liquid cargo such as crude oil and petroleum products.

To permit year-round operation even in Arctic waters and the Northern Sea Route, the platform was built to be able to operate in air temperatures ranging from –35 to 35 degrees Celsius and water temperatures as low as –4 degrees Celsius.

Capable of ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transfers

The vessel is a single-deck platform with a steel/concrete hull, a steel superstructure, a length of 57 metres (190 feet), a beam of 23 metres (75 feet), a draught of 4.5 metres (15 feet) at full load, a depth of 15.6 metres (51.2 feet), a gross tonnage of 5,969, eight cargo tanks with a total capacity of 17,807 cubic metres (3.92 million gallons), and two slop tanks.

Galaktika Shipyard founder Aleksandr Sobolev said the use of steel and concrete for the platform’s hull ensures greater ice resistance and as well as improved ability to withstand explosions.

The platform has been designed for mooring alongside quays though the hull is durable enough to withstand settling directly onto the seabed in shallow areas. This enables it to transfer liquid cargo to vehicles such as tanker trucks and railway cars in addition to seagoing vessels.

First example in a new series

The platform can be deployed in coastal as well as inland waters, allowing it to directly access remote ports. This also reduces the need for trucks and rail cars to be redirected to coastal areas, allowing liquid cargo to be delivered to shore-based end users in less time.

The other key equipment includes ten semi-submersible cargo pumps and a tank washing system.

Steelbeton 0-01 was built in compliance with Russian Maritime Register of Shipping requirements. Current plans call for nine other Project 04650 platforms to be completed including two by Galaktika Shipyard.