Sea trials completed for new Russian inland hospital ship

Russian shipbuilder Port Kolomna has completed conducting sea trials of a new hospital ship designed for operation in inland waters.

Classed by the Russian Classification Society (RKO), the Project 132PK vessel has been named Saint Luke (Святитель Лука; Svyatitel Luka) in honour of a Ukrainian-born Russian physician and cleric who is also venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The vessel 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. It will serve the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug in west-central Russia.

Construction of Svyatitel Luka is being undertaken in compliance with RKO Ice 20 rules, which indicate safe navigation in surface ice up to 20 cm thick.