Russian yard floats out hydrofoil commuter ferry

Russian ship design and construction firm Alexeev's Hydrofoil Design Bureau launched a new commuter hydrofoil ferry into the water at its Nizhny Novgorod facilities on Tuesday, April 22.

Petr Stolypin honours a former Prime Minister of the Russian Empire who had also served as Governor of Saratov Oblast, where the new ferry will be operated primarily. The vessel will be the second Project 23180 hydrofoil ferry to enter service in Saratov.

The ferry is scheduled to be handed over to the operator on May 15 of this year following additional tests. It will sail to Saratov under its own power.

Upon completion, Petr Stolypin will have an LOA of 21.3 metres, a beam of 5.2 metres, and space for two crewmembers and up to 45 passengers. The propulsion will deliver a service speed of just over 35 knots and a range of 400 kilometres.

Construction of the Project 23180 ferry is being undertaken in compliance with Russian Classification Society requirements.