The Turkish Maritime newsletter reported on January 4 that Besiktas Shipyard has started building five out of ten tankers for Palmali Shipping, Turkey.
According to the designer of the vessels, Marine Engineering Bureau, the Armada series of tankers are part of Palmali's RST22M Project, and is a continuation of a previous project, Project 005RST01, previously designed for GC Palmali and built at the Selah and Ada Shipyards in Tuzla from 2002 to 2006.
The new ships are designed to satisfy the Volga Don Canal and the Volga Baltic dimensions. RST22M Project vessels measure 140 metres by 16.6 metres with a draught of six metres.
In comparison with the first series, the new series of Armada tankers has enhanced capabilities such as larger cargo tanks. With a deadweight of 650 tonnes, the vessels comply with new international requirements for the carriage of vegetable oils, including reinforced unsinkable characteristics.
Classed by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping with the following notation: KM Ice 2 R1 AUT1 COMBO oil tanker or chemical tanker type 2 ECO-S, the vessels will meet all new requirements stipulated by international conventions.