VESSEL REVIEW | Kola – Ice-capable harbour tug designed for Russia’s northern waters
Russian shipbuilder Sevmash-Shelf has completed construction of Kola (Кола), a Project A273 tug intended for harbour assistance and towing duties in Russia's northern waters.
The tug was built at the production facilities of Sevmash under the technical supervision of the Arkhangelsk branch of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (KM).
According to KM, Kola successfully completed all stages of construction as well as mooring and sea trials.
The register said these confirmed the vessel's declared technical characteristics and its compliance with the safety requirements associated with the class notation KM⍟ Ice2 (hull; machinery) R3 AUT3 tug.
Also outfitted for emergency response and navigation safety enforcement
The tug has a length of 16.8 metres (55.1 feet), a beam of 5.45 metres (17.9 feet), a draught of only 2.03 metres (6.66 feet), and a displacement of 100 tonnes. The total installed engine power is 1,116 kW (1,500 hp).
KM said Kola will assist and manoeuvre vessels in port waters and their approaches, tow floating craft and other objects, assist vessels in emergency situations, and participate in operations supporting navigational safety.
Under KM definitions, the R3 navigation area covers port, roadstead and coastal operations within boundaries established individually by the register.
Configured for Arctic operation
The AUT3 automation notation permits a vessel's machinery installation to be operated without personnel continuously present in the machinery spaces or central control station, provided main machinery power does not exceed 2,250 kW (3,020 hp).
The Ice2 designation applies to both hull and machinery. The register said the tug has been adapted to the difficult climatic conditions of the north, making her particularly suited to work in Arctic waters.
The new vessel is smaller than other Russian tugs designed for similar port and coastal work, such as the Pella Shipyard-built 20-metre (70-foot) ASD tug and the Russian Marine Rescue Service's Project NE011 tug Nikolai Semenchenko, which has an LOA of 27.41 metres (89.93 feet).