VESSEL REVIEW | Vikhr-1 & Vikhr-2 – Hovercraft pair for winter sightseeing in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Russian shipowner State Transport Leasing Company (STLC) has taken delivery of two new sightseeing hovercraft in a seriesbuilt locally by Gals Shipyard.

Vikhr-1 (Вихрь-1) and Vikhr-2 (Вихрь-2) belong to the Project Sputnik-20 series of hovercraft, which was developed for cross-country navigation across shallow inland waters, ice, and marshland.

The vessels’ cross-country navigation ability is made possible with the aid of rotary centrifugal superchargers developed in-house by the shipbuilder.

Configured for safe navigation in low temperatures

Each hovercraft has an LOA of 11.5 metres (37.7 feet) including the air cushion, a beam of 4.6 metres (15 feet), a height of 5.1 metres (17 feet), and space for 20 passengers and one coxswain plus up to 2,000 kg of assorted cargo.

The passengers and the lone crewmember are housed in an enclosed, climate-controlled cabin.

Two Cummins diesel engines fed by a 400-litre (90-gallon) tank will deliver top speeds of 27 knots in water and 32.4 knots on ice as well as a range of 250 kilometres (160 miles).

Navigation is possible even in wind speeds of 12 metres per second, and the vessels can climb up to six degrees when moving across 0.5-metre (1.6-foot) high obstacles.

The hovercraft are also each fitted with a Furuno radar.

Part of a growing winter-optimised fleet

Transport provider Neva Travel will operate the new hovercraft on behalf of STLC in and around Saint Petersburg as well as further out in the Gulf of Finland primarily during winter, when surface ice will prevent the use of vessels with conventional hulls.

Vikhr-1 and VIkhr-2 will be deployed on the same routes as larger complements to three 12-passenger hovercraft that were also built by Gals Shipyard for Neva Travel.