The innovative multi-purpose salvage ice-class vessel 'Baltika', featuring a highly unusual asymmetric hull form, has been officially handed over to Russia and put into service.
Construction and painting of the hull was completed OAO Shipyard Yantar under survey to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. Following launching of the hull, she was then delivered to Finnish shipyard Arctech Helsinki for fit-out and sea trials.
Measuring 76.4 metres in length, with a beam of 20.5 metres and a draught of 6.3 metres, the vessel was designed by Aker Arctic Technology to provide a wide range of salvage operations and oil recovery services in both clear water and thick ice.
Powered by a 7,500kW propulsion package, the vessel operates at a speed of 14 knots in open water, or three knots in flat ice up to a metre thick.
Due to the vessel's strikingly asymmetrical hull shape and azimuthing thrusters, the diesel-electric vessel is able to create wide 50-metre channels during icebreaking operations.
This occurs by the vessel moving sideways through the ice, using its entire length to carve a channel rather than the more-traditional beam-width of previous icebreakers.
The result is an almost doubling of the channel widths achieved by the 28-metre-beam Russian icebreakers 'Moskva' and 'Sankt-Peterburg'.
As well as icebreaking services, the vessel is also capable of a range of salvage and response duties, including fire fighting, oil spill response, and emergency towage. She has an endurance of 20 days, and is serviced by a crew of 24.
Making her public debut earlier in 2014, the vessel is operated by Russia's FBI Gosmorspassluzhba.