A bilge water removal (BWR) boat owned by Russian port operator Rosmorport has returned to service after undergoing a retrofitting process that gave her autonomous navigation capability.
Koporye is one of the first service vessels in Russia to be certified as a maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS) by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The MASS certification was awarded following the recent successful trials of the vessel's autonomous sailing capability in the Gulf of Finland.
The BWR boat can navigate with an embarked crew, autonomously, or while remotely controlled from a shore station. The latter capability was demonstrated recently when the vessel was in Neva Bay in the Gulf of Finland but was being operated from a control station more than 600 kilometres away in Moscow.
As an optionally crewed vessel, she will resume providing BWR services for ships visiting the Port of Ust-Luga.
Koporye was handed over to Rosmorport in 2024 following completion at Okskaya Shipyard. The vessel belongs to the Project RST 38 series of BWR boats designed by Russian naval architecture firm Marine Engineering Bureau.
The Project RST 38 boats are designed to collect oily water from vessels as well as sediment and separate it with further delivery of oil residues ashore to storage ashore or overboard in authorised areas.
The vessels will also collect separated clean water as well as wastewater and refuse for transportation and delivery to onshore treatment facilities.
