New hospital ship for Russian inland waters nearing completion

Construction is nearly completed on a new hospital ship that will serve the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in west-central Russia.

Classed by the Russian Classification Society (RKO), the completed vessel will have a length of 65 metres, a beam of 10.8 metres, a draught of only 1.3 metres, a depth of 3.2 metres, a displacement of 650 tonnes, and space for 12 crewmembers, 25 medical personnel and up to 50 patients.

The vessel's size and its shallow draught will permit operation in rivers and lakes. An operating speed of just under 13 knots will meanwhile enable it to sail up to 500 kilometres in one day.

Inland waterway transport specialist Severrechflot will be the operator of the vessel, which is scheduled for delivery in September of this year.

Construction of the new Project 132PK hospital ship is being undertaken in compliance with RKO Ice 20 rules, which indicate safe navigation in surface ice up to 20 cm thick.