Russian shipbuilder Emperium has launched the hybrid ferries Kronstadt (Кронштадт) and Vyborg (Выборг) at its facilities in Otradnoye in Leningrad Region.
The pair are the last of six Project EM901 or Moskva 2.0 series vessels ordered by State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK) for leasing to Vodohod subsidiary Vodohod Passenger Port. The order was placed under a fleet renewal project financed from Russia's National Wealth Fund with support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The shipyard described the launches as technical launches. Work will continue aboard both vessels on commissioning the power plants and control systems and completing the interiors.
Operating routes will be determined by the customer after trials and acceptance by the Russian Classification Society.
Vodohod Passenger Port said that Kronstadt and Vyborg are intended for other Russian regions, with their future operating cities yet to be decided.
The earlier GTLK vessels are Lomonosov, Pushkin, Peterhof and Oreshek. Construction of Kronstadt began in December 2025 and of Vyborg in May 2026.
GTLK said the vessels’ hybrid power plants, based on electric motors and diesel generators, will allowsup to eight hours of operation on electric propulsion.
The Project EM901 design was developed by Emperium's own design bureau as an electric version of the Soviet Project R-51 Moskva passenger vessel. Each ferry will have a length of 33 metres, a beam of eight metres, a draught of only 1.3 metres, and space for 140 passengers and 10 crewmembers.
